Snippets
by trichloroethane
Summary: A collection of oneshots ranging across many different levels and subjects.Formerly 'DarkDai Oneshots'.
1. His Only Witness

**His Only Witness:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: Good question, seeing as this is a collection of random one-shots. Yaoi (I'm stuck in that mode), OOC, angst, shounen-ai, fluff probably, mild swearing.

A/N: This is just a break from 'Journalist', as I don't think I'm up to typing out Chapter 9 just yet, seeing as I have exams (guilty look) and a slight case of writer's block. So this is just something inspired from doing a DN Angel marathon and watching all 26 episodes of the anime in just three days. PS-anyone know where to find good translated scans of the manga? Thanks.

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He's always there, watching, waiting. He's been there through everything-the good times, the bad times, the crazy times. He's always there, lurking within the deep recesses of his mind, a silent commentator. His presence is comforting, although somewhat disconcerting, especially when his thoughts drift.

His manner is playful, cocky, confident. He's everything that he's not. To the world, he's cool, suave, the kind of guy who could get away with murder. Even older women blush and sigh when he winks at them.

He can make anything look good. He can step out of a bush and still look like a million dollars (to use Takeshi's favourite phrase). He can pop out of the local Dumpster and look like he just walked out of a beauty salon, complete with fussy hairdressers and busty blonde women with heavily made-up faces.

He could probably walk into a VIP-exclusive event for Sasa (1) or some fashion show and be welcomed in with open arms. He could strut his stuff on the catwalk and come out of it alive. He could be smashed into a wall, body-slammed, be used as an energy ball target and still walk out and look as though all he did was go shopping for groceries.

"Mr. Niwa, perhaps you'd like to tell the class what you were thinking of?" There was an awkward silence as Daisuke desperately tried to stammer something out along the lines of, 'Sorry sensei,'. The class looked at him, expecting nothing, receiving nothing. After a reprimand from the teacher and a chastised nod, Daisuke settled back into the stupor from which he had been pulled. After all, he didn't plan on taking French any further than he strictly had to, and his thoughts were much more interesting than the Future tense. Oddly enough, _he _didn't make a comment.

-Change of POV-

He's so…normal. Even though he's not, he still keeps up the façade. Still stammers whenever the teacher's wrath is upon his head, still squeaks whenever his mother goes crazy, still has a crush on the same girl he's watched for years, even though she rejected him, still _dreams_. He's surprised and not surprised at the same time, seeing as he has so much hope left in him. He's always smiling, always kind, always ready to help even though he knows it will inconvenience him in some way or another.

He's just the kid next door, that's all. Or so he continues to tell himself. But deep down inside, he knows that his host is just as much a mystery as he himself is. Unlike some people, who could be read like books, he was an enigma, a mystery to everyone whom he met.

Daisuke threw his bag down on the floor as he reached his room. Stooping down, he pulled out his sketchbook and sat down at his desk with it. Smiling quietly to himself, he began to draw. The urge had been pulling at him for some days now, so he figured that getting the picture down on paper would help him to work it out of his system.

_Ne, Dai, what're you drawing? _Daisuke smiled slightly as he felt his closest friend stir.

"Just something…" he answered. It didn't occur to him that Dark would take a peek. Then again, a lot of things never occurred to him until they happened. Which was probably the reason why he got into so many scrapes.

_Daisuke? _Dark questioned. _Is…is that me?_

Daisuke smiled. "Yes, Dark, it is."

The thief was intrigued. _What for? I know I'm stunningly handsome, and I've got an amazing personality that draws you to me…_Daisuke sighed.

"In your dreams, Dark."

_Ooh, catty now, aren't we? _The older one taunted. There was no malice in his voice; it was banter between two friends.

"W-ell, if you don't like it…" Daisuke purposely trailed off, knowing that Dark would not be able to resist.

_I'm a better subject than most, _the other conceded finally. It was all the retraction that the redhead knew he would get. _So…do I get to choose tonight? _

"Eh…?" Daisuke was completely baffled as to the other's meaning. "What do you mean, Dark?"

_Do I get to choose which twin to hit on tonight? _Disappointment…at what? Then an indignant squawk.

"No! You most certainly do not!" Dark pouted-Daisuke could see him in his mind's eye, sitting there, cross-legged with a pout on his face. "You're so mature," he mocked playfully as he continued to draw.

**-Two hours later- **

Dark looked at the sketchbook, transparent fingers reaching out to touch the pages but not succeeding. It was a picture of him, sitting there in his usual garb, wings wrapped around himself in a sort of cocoon. But it wasn't the actual picture that caught his interest. Oh no. It was the _spirit _which had caught his attention. Dark knew better than anyone else just how much life artwork had. However, when looking at this particular picture, one would be inclined to believe that it had been made in the spirit of something more than just an artist, sketching an image. There was more feeling in it. This was no piece made solely for money; it was made whilst sitting on the wings of Inspiration, that fickle god who might only appear once in a lifetime but left a lasting impression with each visit. _You look upon me with the eye of a friend, little one. Not as a curse, not as some hero to worship and watch with adoring eyes, but as a friend do you upon me look. _

Brushing a gentle hand over the soft red locks that spill onto the pillow, the Phantom Thief gently places an unfelt kiss to his Tamer's lips before smiling sadly, for he knows that what he wants will never come to be. His only witness is With, and he will never tell.

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(Looks around) Everyone together now…AWWW. I figured I'd join the masses of drabble writers, only with a twist-this collection will be dedicated to D/D, seeing as not enough people write it. Thanks for reading, and review please! 


	2. No More Sacred Maiden

**No More Sacred Maiden:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: Shounen-ai

_

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Wait, let me get this straight. You…don't have a Sacred Maiden any more. _

"That's right."

_So…_

"Yeah."

_Then…_

"Yeah."

…_Holy crap. _Dark was nonplussed, to say the very least. He was also curious. In all his years with the Niwas, he'd never, ever, _ever _come up against anything like the current situation. Apparently Daisuke Niwa, only son of Emiko and Kosuke Niwa, had decided that he did _not _like either Riku or Risa. It turned out that his feelings towards Riku were those of a brother towards a sister, and vice versa. Daisuke had long grown out of his crush on the younger twin and Hio-san…well, let's just say that if Daisuke had any say in the matter, he would most certainly _not _be in a relationship with her any time soon.

Dark looked up from his chosen spot on Daisuke's bed. Ever since Kosuke's discovery of the Dual Plate, an artifact that split people into 'good' and 'bad' sides, Dark had gained a body of sorts. Unfortunately, since the Plate hadn't been made with him and Daisuke in mind, 12 hours was the limit. "You mean you're telling me that I can't come out of you and that I have to summon my physical form every time I want to be solid?"

"Yes." Daisuke scribbled the answer to one of the questions on the sheet that his History teacher had given for homework and flipped through the textbook, searching for another piece of information.

There was a pause. Then Dark thoughtfully said, "At least you won't have to worry about the Ice Prince pinning you anywhere any more." Daisuke flushed and the thief continued, well aware of the discomfort he was causing his host. "But you don't _mind_, do you, Dai-chan?" He asked, a devilish glint in his eyes.

"What!" Daisuke whipped around so quickly it was a wonder he didn't get whiplash. "What on earth are you babbling on about this time, Dark?"

"Why, I'm just …giving you inspiration. Maybe your feelings changed because somewhere along the line, you decided little boys were nicer than little girls…"

"Huh?" Innocent crimson met mischievous amethyst and Dark sighed, reminded of a passage he had once read-'…I discovered there was a fine reason why her eyes had such a marvelous moronic serenity…'(i) _Indeed, _he reflected. _But he's not stupid. _

"So," the dramatic thief said, throwing himself onto the bed in mock despair. "Let's go through the ladies you know and hopefully you'll transform at one of them. We shall begin with…Hio? No," he mildly said, seeing the look on Daisuke's face. "I think not. Mm…Sakura? Kuri? Hanabi? Ayako? Mina? Makoto? Still no? Hmm…" his brow wrinkled as he immersed himself in thoughts. "Menou?...please don't tell me it's Towa!" Daisuke only groaned before continuing his homework. After all, it wasn't as though Dark was being productive, anyway.

After about fifteen minutes of Dark's reeling off random female names (where he had picked them up Daisuke still didn't know), his History homework was completed. "…do you have some sick fantasy about Blue in your head, Dai-chan?" Daisuke wondered whether he should react properly, or whether he should pretend not to hear.

A pause. Then, "My God. You do!" Dark promptly buried his head in the pillow, ignoring the strange look on Daisuke's face. Contrary to popular belief, the redhead was not as…simple as everyone made him out to be. He, too, had normal hormonal urges (his transformations were proof of that) and he was not wholly sheltered from boys' locker room talk. In fact, he'd known all along what Dark was hinting at, only he felt it more amusing to pretend that he had no clue. Then the redhead smiled sweetly.

"No Dark," he replied, "we don't all go for the quiet ones." At the gagging sound from the thief, he knew he'd just scored a point. _Now let's hope Dark doesn't start pushing back, _he thought. _That might be just a little too much. _All right; so he was still somewhat naïve and easily embarrassed. Then there was silence. Daisuke looked up uneasily to his bed and almost winced. Dark was gone. Then hot breath tickled the back of his neck.

"Oh?" Daisuke could feel Dark's lips moving against the back of his neck. "So, what type _would _you go for then, Dai-chan?"

He pretended to hesitate. "Well…" _Come on, take the bait! _

"Or do you already have someone in mind?" Genuine hesitation. "Come on," Dark gently coaxed the younger one. "You can tell me; I won't mind."

_Score! _"She'd have to be…confident." Daisuke felt Dark press closer and he was hard pressed not to just turn around and /show/ him. "And…smooth. She'd have dancing eyes, and a lively disposition. She would be easy to talk to and…" his tone softened. "…she's the most selfless person I know." Long fingers trailed up his jawline, caressing the soft skin. Dark smiled at the change in tense and continued his actions.

"Really?" Dark murmured, his breath brushing the nape of Daisuke's neck. Dimly, the younger one noted that the thief smelled of mint. "Where did you meet?"

"We met…under unusual circumstances."

A smirk. The redhead could feel the lips curving upwards on his skin. "Did you now?"

"H-hai."

"Sounds like a love story." The fingers continued to smooth over his flesh, tracing delicate patterns in a slow, sensuous manner. Daisuke flushed as they gently brushed over his lips before Dark moved his hand further upward and cupped his face. "She's a 'he', isn't 'she', Dai?"

_Busted! _"Why…what would make you think that?"

"This." With that simple word, Dark whirled Daisuke around to face him and before the other could react, pressed his lips to the redhead's. Just as suddenly as he had kissed him, he disappeared and Daisuke was left alone, sitting in his chair, still holding his pencil, stunned. Fingers unconsciously made their way up to his mouth, where he could still feel the gentle pressure.

"Nani…"

Then Dark came out again and Daisuke was sitting in the recesses of his own mind, still in shock. Dark lazily stood up and stretched, smiling at the feeling of being completely solid again. With a chuckle, he checked up on Daisuke. "No more Sacred Maiden, hm Dai-chan?"

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i Truman Capote, 'Answered Prayers'

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Another one done. I know it's not as 'deep' as the first one (sarcastic snort here), but it was just an idea. As for the quote, it's meant to be read in a gentle manner. I know writing is meant to be left to the reader's interpretation, but I feel that this is one thing you can't interpret any other way without losing the meaning of the piece. Thank you for reading and reviewing the first drabble, and please, please review this one! I'd really like to hear your ideas and stuff as well, so if there's anything you'd like to see up but don't have the time to write yourself, please let me know! Review and thanks for reading! 


	3. The Craftsman and the Thief

**Aldane-Kaz'raya-The Craftsman and the Thief:**

Disclaimer: I do NOT, repeat-NOT-own DN Angel.

Warnings: AU, OOC, language

A/N: I apologise for any historical discrepancies in this fanfic.

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"Wait!" He tore down the streets, ignoring the attention he garnered from everyone. He knew he looked odd, dressed in his 'outlandish' garb and with his already striking hair and eyes. The thief was running away as fast as he could, darting through the stalls and into an alleyway. "Hey! I said wait!" He wasn't used to being disobeyed, seeing as he was, after all, _the _most skilled craftsman in the whole of Alyanda, just short of being royalty.

The purse banged against his thigh, its weight both a comfort and a source of distress at the same time. _At least I'll eat tonight, _he thought as he moved deeper into the heart of the city, a crumbling district known to the locals as 'Aldane-Kaz'raya' (pronounced 'Al-dah-ne kaz raya')-'ancient heart' in the local dialect.

He shot past the silk vendors and the food hawkers, intent on shaking off his chaser. Every so often he would glance back and then curse his short legs. His pursuer was much taller than he was and was obviously in good health, judging from the way he didn't even seem to be out of breath yet. Seeing his destination, he put on a burst of speed, determined to outrun the other.

Dark paused for breath, panting. He looked around him and realized that he was in the infamous 'Ancient Heart' district. Although it was crumbling and at first sight looked dirty and filthy, it was also a fascinating place. Unfortunately, it was also the worst place for a foreigner like himself to be. He sensed something behind him and turned around to find that Riku, his servant, was running up to him.

"Master Dark," she scolded him, brown eyes annoyed. "You could have gotten lost! What were you thinking?"

"I wanted my money back," Dark replied. Although he was incredibly rich (richer than half the nobles in Mar-Al'dak, his home country, he still didn't like losing the stuff. It wasn't that he was stingy; it was just that it was annoying to lose foreign money, as it meant more hassle operating between currencies.

"You shouldn't be here, sir," she reprimanded him. Even though she was the younger of the two, Dark often felt that Riku was the older sister he'd never had. "It's dangerous."

"I know," he wearily replied, raking fingers through his purple hair. Unbeknownst to the pair, they were being watched.

Daisuke was curious, to say the least. The man he'd just robbed was no native-anyone could see that from his strange clothing. He was obviously very rich, or at least somewhat prosperous; the purse and his servant proved that. He cocked his head to one side, listening intently. Part of him wanted to get back to his hideout, but the other part of him wanted to see what this man would do next. Few ever chased him this far, and few ever continued once they realized that they were in the so-called dangerous part of town. For Aldane-Kaz'raya had a second name, one far less poetic-'Rogues' Heart'.

A heavy hand descended on his shoulder and Daisuke fairly jumped before relaxing again-it was just Gen. "Hey there, Dai." Gen was a giant of a man, thick black brows and a fierce stare belying his nature. In truth, he had a heart of gold and always looked out for the kids in this area. More than once Daisuke had stopped over at his place for a rest on his way back from the marketplace. "How's Satoshi?"

Daisuke sighed. "He's worse now," he sadly said. "His cough isn't getting any better and he doesn't eat or drink any more. He just sleeps." Gen nodded sadly.

"If he ever needs anything, just get him up to my place, all right?" The burly carpenter said. Daisuke smiled slightly.

"Thanks, but it probably won't come to that. I'm going to get him some medicine today." The carpenter chuckled but at the same time there was a hint of melancholy in his laugh, as he reflected upon those forced to steal for their living.

"You get a good catch then?" Daisuke blushed. Gen then stood up. "I'd better be going. But remember; if you or Satoshi need anything, just drop by. I'll always be around, and if I'm not, Faith is." Faith was his wife, a dark, slender little woman who came from the Belt, the strip of desert that separated Alyanda from the rest of the Kingdom. The redhead flushed and looked down at the merchant, who was still standing there. He froze as the man cast his eyes upwards and locked them with his own, crimson ones. _Uh-oh. _Daisuke hastily turned to run, but found himself blocked by the man, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah!" Daisuke tried to dart around the taller man, but he was too slow and without any effort at all, he was caught. He shut his eyes tightly, expecting a blow or a snarl from his captor, but it never came. The redhead slowly opened first one eyes, then the next. The purple-haired man had a pensive look on his face. Then he spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously.

_Oh crap, he's going to hand me over to the Guards! _Daisuke's eyes darted around desperately, trying to find some way to escape. "Eh…" he laughed nervously. "You…you can have your purse back…just don't hand me over to the Guards! Please!" He begged desperately. They would kill him for stealing! Images of dangling from the gallows flashed through his head and Daisuke felt tears spring to his eyes. "Please!" _I can't leave Satoshi! _

"Hey now, calm down." Dark rifled through the pockets in his cloak, searching for a handkerchief. "Here," he gently wiped the other's face. "I'm not going to send you anywhere, maybe except home." Daisuke shook his head, trying to push the handkerchief away even though he knew tears were running down his face.

"W-why are you being so nice to me?" Daisuke looked suspiciously at Dark, although the effect was somewhat diminished by his tear-streaked face. "Wh-wha-what do you want?"

Dark blinked. "Nothing." He shrugged gracefully. "Just wanted my money back. It takes forever to get currency changed, you know." Daisuke gave him a scornful look.

"I've never _traveled,_" the redhead pointed out. "Or haven't you noticed? I _steal_. I take things that don't belong to me to scrape a living. Do I look like I can _afford _to travel?" Then he stopped, noticing the look on Dark's face. It was a look of…hurt? Disappointment? Daisuke wasn't sure.

"Who are you?" The older one repeated. Daisuke glared at him stubbornly, although in truth he was scared.

"…Daisuke." _What? I answered? _Daisuke didn't know why he'd given his real name to someone he'd stolen from. He'd lived on the streets for three years now, and he was still slipping up like this.

"Well, Daisuke, I'm Dark Mousy." Dark grinned as he saw the crimson eyes widen.

"You mean…you mean you're that craftsman?"

Dark nodded proudly. "Yeah. The one and only." Daisuke could only gawk in fear and awe as he thought, _I've stolen from a friend of the royal family. _"Don't worry about it," Dark smiled warmly at Daisuke. "I'm an easy-going person. I'm not going to press charges."

The redhead could only stare in awe, unable to respond. _He's just going to let that much money go? _"'Sides, I figure you need it more." Daisuke stared. _He really is going to let me…_then he shook his head violently. _No way! There has to be a hidden catch somewhere! Nothing in life ever comes free! _

"What do you want?" he demanded. "No one ever gives things away for free!" Mistaking the surprised look in Dark's eyes, he thought with a growing sense of dread, _Oh no. _

"You…do you…" He couldn't say it. An eyebrow rose, curious. Dark wondered what Daisuke would say-he didn't know for sure.

"Do you want…bed favours?" Daisuke inwardly cringed at the thought. He hadn't thought he that would ever have to whore himself out to anyone. Amethyst eyes widened and Dark practically pushed him away.

"WHAT! When did I ever say or imply that?" Daisuke shrugged.

"It's what the rich people ask for," he placidly replied. "Everyone knows official courtesans are no good." Dark squawked, face now slightly redder.

"Well, I'm not going to—"

"People don't just give away money," Daisuke groaned impatiently. This guy was really out of touch with the real world. "There's no such thing as a free meal! Don't you get it?" Hey, he was pragmatic.

"I don't need sexual favours!" Dark finally managed to grit out, ignoring the amused look Riku was giving him. "But if you want, I'll just take my birili (currency) back!" He made a grab for the bag, expecting Daisuke to hold it out of his reach, but to his surprise the redhead actually handed it to him. Dark stared at the little black pouch, blinking in surprise and bewilderment. "Huh?"

Daisuke turned his back on Dark, eyes sadder. _I guess I won't be able to get Satoshi his medicine after all, _he sadly told himself. He didn't hear Dark until the other placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Hey listen, I have a feeling you need that money, right?"

The redhead pushed the hand away, ignoring how nice it felt to have someone touch him, even if it was just a little touch. "What business is it of yours?"

A dark chuckle. "You wouldn't be stealing otherwise, na?"

Daisuke didn't say anything, chose to huff instead. His red locks swayed slightly in the wind and he looked at Dark, unsure of what to say. He was still wary of the other man, even though the 'man' turned out to be someone probably only about two years older than he was. Finally, Daisuke gave up. "Look, here's your money back, now goodbye, sayonara, _asha'doriya_, see ya. Okay?" He shoved the purse at Dark and ran away, far away.

Dark watched the thief go, wondering. Then he reached behind his back and pulled out the large, folded tessen (1) that he carried around for protection. With a brisk wave, the weapon snapped open and Dark waved it, calling up an Air Platform(2) to take both him and Riku back to the inn they were staying at. Turning on his heel, Dark closed his fan and returned it to the large 'holder' on his back before mounting the giant platform of spinning air. "Come on Riku, let's go."

"Master Dark…!"

He shrugged carelessly. "Doesn't matter. We can get some more money, even though it will kill me if I have to wait another Age just to get more birili."

**Daisuke: **

"Sato?" The figure on the bed shuddered and twisted, muttering all the while. Daisuke walked into the sickroom and placed a new, cool towel on the other boy's head, taking the old one away to wash it. "Are you better now?"

"Ngh…"

Daisuke could only sigh and watch sadly. That gang leader had really done a number on his friend this time; he'd pulled out a knife and before Satoshi could react, he'd found himself with two sliced hamstrings and a nasty chest wound. In his already weakened condition, Satoshi would only get worse until he got medicine. _But no, _the redhead sarcastically thought, _You just had to throw the money back at Dark Mousy because you wanted to save face! _Daisuke sighed again as he looked at Satoshi. He then noticed the older boy's lips moving and leaned closer in order to hear him better.

"Dai…suke…"

"Yes?" Daisuke sincerely hoped Satoshi wasn't going to say something cheerful like, 'I'm going to croak now, see you later,'.

"Don't…worry…about…me…" here he burst into a volley of coughs, which left him red-faced and gasping for air. "I'm sorry…for ta…king…" Satoshi fell silent, lacking the strength to say any more. Daisuke's eyes widened in horror and began to rapidly fill up with tears as he hastily grabbed his friend's hand and called his name out repeatedly.

"Satoshi!" Daisuke desperately clutched his friend's hot, dry hand, uncaring of whether he was putting himself at risk. "Satoshi!" Then crimson orbs hardened in determination and he wrapped the blue-haired boy up in the blankets before hoisting him on onto his shoulders. _I'll carry you there, even if it takes me all night! _He vowed. Moving carefully, so as not to disturb his friend any more than was strictly necessary, Daisuke began the trip to the healer's.

**Dark: **

THUNK. "Ouch!"

"You idiot!" Dark winced as he looked at the bloody mess he'd made of his finger.

"It's not my fault!" He pouted at Krad, who was his partner in the business.

"What do you mean, 'It's not my fault'? You were the one holding the blade! How is it my fault?"

Dark rolled his eyes at the other man good-naturedly before hissing. "Gark!"

Krad sighed. "Go get it fixed," he told the other man. "Before you muck anything else up."

"Hey, I'll have you know that without me, your designs would still be pinned to the wall!" Dark exclaimed. "It'll be fine." Krad grimaced.

"If you want to lose a finger, yes, it'll be perfect." Dark shot him a 'look', which the blond calmly ignored.

"Hmph. Well, it doesn't need much…YAH!" Dark had whacked the injured finger on the table as he slammed his hand down to prove his point. Krad sighed before calmly ringing the bell on his work table. A plump, motherly looking woman appeared at the door and before Dark could protest, Krad had told the lady to wrap Dark up and take him to the healer's. The purple-haired craftsman was dragged out, kicking and screaming like a child of five who didn't want to go to the doctor's. Krad sighed and rubbed his temples before looking down at the sheet of paper in front of him. The vestiges of an idea had just been beginning to take a more tangible form in the recesses of his mind before that idiot screeched like a stabbed banshee (3).

**Daisuke: **

He raised a hand, knocking on the door. He knew that someone would answer it; the only good thing about the healers in this country were that they were required by law to have someone up at all hours. After all, people didn't choose when to die. The door swung open to reveal an old man, his eyes narrowed and bleary. It was obvious he'd been woken up.

"What is it?" he snapped. Daisuke resisted the urge to shout at him.

"Please, sir, it's my friend. He got into a fight and he's very sick, and…"

"Come in," the old healer barked out. "Don't just stand there! Move!" He moved out of the way to allow Daisuke to bring Satoshi in. "Hurry up! The rooms are over there!" The healer gestured towards a set of rooms which were dimly lit by a candle. When it was clear that the redhead couldn't move quickly enough due to his heavy burden, the healer grabbed Satoshi and with surprising strength carried him the rest of the way.

Satoshi was lying on a clean bed with fresh sheets, Daisuke looking on worriedly. "Will my friend be okay?" he asked the healer, who was moving around with astounding energy for someone of such advanced years.

"Yes, yes, he'll be fine. Stop worrying!" The old man glared fiercely, his bushy white eyebrows drawn downwards in a frown whilst his dark eyes glittered. Then there was another knock at the door.

The old man stood up, about to go over to open it when Daisuke jumped up. "I'll get it, sir!"

"I'm not some lily-handed little lord," the healer barked after him. "I don't need a title. My name's Kaname, so if you're going to call me anything, call me by that."

"S-sorry Kaname-san," Daisuke stammered out before opening the door. To his immense surprise, Dark was standing there with a scowl on his face. The redhead immediately flushed and hastily moved behind the door, hoping that the wealthy man wouldn't see him.

The healer looked up. "What's wrong with you then?" he gruffly asked. When the man took a step backwards, the healer glared more fiercely at him. "Can't be a battle wound if you're that tender," he grunted out, looking Dark up and down. The man stiffened and mock-glared before laughing quietly.

"No, nothing of the sort." He held out his hand and Daisuke almost gasped. The finger was a bloody mess, and had it not been for the fact that it was still attached to his hand, it would have been impossible to guess what the mutilated flesh had once been. The healer rolled his eyes.

"You're an idiot," he bluntly stated. "You really are. Master craftsman my foot…" Still muttering to himself, the man stomped off, looking for bandages and the herbs he normally used for minor injuries.

Dark turned to Daisuke, smiling lightly. "Why are you here? You're okay, aren't you?"

There was an awkward pause as Daisuke glared defiantly at the master craftsman. "Yes."

Dark took a seat on one of the many chairs scattered about the place. Propping his head up with his uninjured hand, he looked at Daisuke, smiling that little smile that drove everyone around him in either a state of shock or a state of fear. That smile usually heralded the end of the world for someone. "Who is it, then?"

Daisuke flushed in anger. "None of your business!" Master craftsman and rich man be d-----; it was really none of his business!

Dark smirked and Daisuke found himself thinking, _He actually looks good like that…_before ruthlessly quashing the thought. Just then, Satoshi stirred and the redhead rushed over, worry evident in his eyes.

"What's…?" His voice was slurred and quiet and it was all Daisuke could do not to sniff.

"…it's nothing, Satoshi. Just sleep. You're at the healer's." Satoshi muttered in weak protest, but Daisuke shook his head sadly. "It'll be fine, Satoshi. You need this." The blue-haired one shuddered but could not do anything other than that.

Dark gently placed a hand on Daisuke's shoulder, their positions eerily reminiscent of their meeting in the afternoon. They stood there, the redhead not saying anything and the dark one having nothing to say. Then the healer returned. "Oi! You with the mashed finger!" He stormed over to Dark and grabbed his hand, applying a little bottle of some sort of medicine to the flesh. The craftsman hissed as the liquid touched him and sizzled a little. Kaname roughly bandaged his hand, ignoring the tiny yelps from his patient. Daisuke watched in amusement, rolling his eyes in exasperation every time the older one whimpered or winced in pain.

Meanwhile, Dark was wondering about this old man. _Is everything he does this…rough? _His hand fell limply onto his lap and he realized that the healer was done. "Don't do any more crafting until five weeks from now," the elderly healer warned him shortly before going to check on the blue-haired boy. Dark looked sympathetically at Daisuke, who was pushed away by the gruff old man. A wave of sympathy engulfed Dark and without thinking, he moved forward and gently wrapped his arms around the younger one. To his surprise, there was no sound of protest from him, merely a resigned sigh.

Leaning over, Dark gently whispered, "He'll be fine."

"It's not that…" Daisuke murmured, half-aware that he was talking to the next closest thing to royalty. "It's the _bills_," he half-sobbed. "We don't have any more money…and last time, it cost so much!" He buried his face in Dark's chest, the exhaustion and the disappointment seeping through him.

Dark didn't say anything; he merely hugged the younger one more tightly. "Don't worry about it, Daisuke," he softly said. "It'll be fine." The old man was still tending to Satoshi, although from the look on his face, Dark guessed that he wasn't very pleased. He looked down at the thief in his arms. Then without warning, Daisuke looked up at him, ruby eyes glowing in the moonlight. He leaned upwards and dark amethyst widened in shock as the redhead firmly kissed him. "Hmpf!" He pushed gently at the thief before giving in. Then Daisuke pulled away, eyes glistening faintly with tears.

"Sir…"

"Dark," the other faintly interrupted.

"S-Dark…700 birili."

"Huh?" Dark stared, completely clueless. Why was Daisuke talking about money now? The young man looked at him, crimson eyes fierce and at the same time desperate.

"700 birili," the younger one insisted. "At least. For-for a night." There was a pause and then Dark yelped, pushing him away.

"No!"

"Please," Daisuke hoarsely whispered. "I need the money. Please!" He clutched more tightly onto Dark's shirt, afraid of the other's rejection. "I have to pay for Satoshi!"

"No!" Dark pulled away from Daisuke, eyes fierce. "I don't need…company tonight," he said more harshly than he intended. The redhead leaned closer, his breath coming out in soft pants, eyes glinting with a fey light in the dimly lit room.

"Please sir…" he ran a suggestive hand down Dark's side, smiling slightly at the shiver that ran through the purple-eyed man. Daisuke was no stranger to these acts-he had been forced to perform them for those who came down here and demanded 'entertainment'. "I can take you to heaven and back…"

"No." Dark's voice was firm but gentle. "I won't." Crimson eyes darkened in despair

"There's no need to resort to _that_," a gruff voice interrupted. Flushing darkly, both young men turned to face the healer. "If you're looking to pay this place, don't." Daisuke stared in shock, his mouth opening and shutting in his immense surprise. The man continued, his back turned to them as he now tended to the extremely sick teenager lying on the bed. "It's a disgrace. People come here to be healed, not be healed and then kill themselves trying to pay the bills. Except for folk like him, who can afford it." Here Kaname jerked his head at Dark.

"You mean…you mean you won't charge us?" Daisuke asked hopefully. He didn't trust Dark, but he wanted to believe this healer. He didn't want to wake from this dream and find the moneylenders looming over him, demanding their birili with interest.

Kaname snorted derisively. "As if you had anything to give, boy." His voice was harsh, but both Dark and Daisuke felt that he was sincere. "Some healers charge because they know their customers can afford it. Not I. So none of that hanky-panky here."

Daisuke blushed again, but he had to ask, just to confirm that all this wasn't just some dream. "We won't have to pay anything?" he asked. The white robed man sighed in exasperation.

"No, you won't. There's no hidden trap here," he added shortly after taking a look at Daisuke's incredulous expression. "But for you, sir, I'll have to insist upon payment."

"Of course," Dark smoothly said. "I understand perfectly. I'm not like some others." Kaname nodded.

"Very well. That will be 100 birili," he shortly said, eyes fixed on Dark. The craftsman raised an eyebrow. "Only?"

"Your wound was not serious and I do not believe in robbing you blind just because you are rich."

"But your materials…" Dark weakly protested. The old man cut him off with a raised hand.

"Don't quibble! Do you want me to raise the price further?" Dark shut up and quickly handed over the money, thanking the healer for his services as he did so. He exited the place reluctantly, casting one last glance at Daisuke before continuing on his way.

Daisuke sank into the chair, alone once more. He knew there was nothing he could do to help Satoshi now; Kaname had already done his best. "You know, boy, that man feels more than just pity for you." The petite redhead looked up in surprise at the old healer. Gnarled hands gently smoothed the sheets before the healer joined him on the chairs.

"Yeah, repulsion, I'll bet." The healer shook his head, spiky white hair quivering slightly.

"No; not repulsion. Can you not see, boy?" That voice was gruff, but calming at the same time.

"No," Daisuke defiantly replied. "I'm just a thief who tried to pickpocket him and made a mess out of it, too," he dully replied.

"Go after him," the healer rose to his feet and went into the back of the shop, returning moments later with a slightly oversized cloak. "Go. I will take care of your friend." Daisuke was about to protest when he saw the white brows draw downwards in a fierce glare. "Go!" Without another word, Daisuke ran after Dark.

**Dark: **

He walked home by himself, having told the servants not to wait for him earlier. However, he was not afraid of the dangerous inhabitants of Aldane Kaz'raya; his tessen afforded him as much protection as a body of armed guards would. The sound of feet pattering along the road behind him caused him to turn and amethyst orbs widened in surprise as the fiery thief caught up with him. "What is it?" he gently asked. The boy paused, catching his breath.

"I-I want to ask something," he stammered out. Dark raised an eyebrow, grateful for the shadows that surrounded him and hid his expression from the other.

"I don't want sexual favours from you, if that's what you're asking."

He shook his head. "Why are you so kind?"

"A conversation hardly fit for such a dangerous place. Come;" he held out a hand to the thief. "I will take you to a place where we can talk in comfort." Daisuke eyed the hand suspiciously, not sure if he should go or not. Dark rolled his eyes.

"I am a craftsman," he sarcastically said. "Not someone who preys on others." Daisuke looked at him sharply, ruby eyes still wary. Then he made the decision-he followed the man.

**Next morning: **

He stirred sleepily, enjoying the comfort and warmth that surrounded him. He slowly opened his eyes and stared in amazement. He was lying in Master Craftsman Dark Mousy's arms, in his bed, face to face with him. He took the time to study his features carefully; he couldn't be much older than he himself was. Daisuke carefully reached out and traced the sharp, handsome features, reflecting upon the strange events that had brought him here. On an impulse, he leaned forward and kissed Dark on the lips. Not because he was being paid to, not because he was being forced to; because he wanted to.

"Morning, Daisuke," Mischievous, lively violet jewels met ruby ones and Daisuke found himself pressing closer as Dark kissed back. "What a lovely wake-up call. Much better than any of the maids here could ever provide."

"You didn't answer my question," Daisuke accused the other.

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Which one? You had so many of them."

"Why are you being so kind to me?"

"Honestly?" Dark thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Because you intrigue me. Because…I believe I fell in love with you at first sight." Daisuke shook his head disbelievingly.

"There's no such thing as that," he firmly stated. "There's lust and brotherly love, but there's no such thing as love at first sight. That's for girls."

Dark gave him an amused, enigmatic smile. "And you're decisive and intelligent. You give your opinion very decidedly for one so young."

"As do you," Daisuke retorted. "And the rest of it is just street stuff."

Dark playfully tapped his nose. "As do I," he cheerfully agreed. "But be it as it may…" he was interrupted by a banging on his door.

"DARK!" Krad crashed in, ignoring Daisuke. "YOU MORON!" he roared at the craftsman. "THIS IS NO TIME TO BE SLEEPING IN! WE'RE EXPECTED AT THE PALACE, OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?"

"Ah…yes…" Dark drawled. "I do seem to be a little disoriented this morning. Do forgive me, Krad." He sprang out of bed and calmly dunked his face in the washbasin provided for that purpose. "Now, if you will kindly leave me so that I can get dressed…?" The blond shot him a haughty look, but left the room nevertheless. Then the darker one winked roguishly at Daisuke before walking out onto the landing.

"Krad!" He called down. An irate 'What?' could be heard even from inside the room. "Do tell the king and queen I am most apologetic, but I fell ill and am resting, will you please?"

There was a pause before Krad grudgingly replied, "Very well. But it won't be easy," he warned the other.

"Thank you, Kraddie-kins," Dark sweetly replied. Then he turned to Daisuke, a devilish glint in his eye. "Now, as to the matter of love at first sight…" The thief only had time to utter a squeak before Dark pounced on him, amethyst eyes glowing.

**Several days later: **

Satoshi handed Kaname the herbs that he'd requested, his blue eyes calm and clear once more. The old man had nursed him back to health and he was now much better. He wondered where Daisuke had gone; although the redhead had often disappeared for days on end, he had a feeling that this stunt was something more. He often wondered whether Kaname knew anything about it, but neither spoke of the redheaded, fiery thief. Suddenly, the door burst open and the object of his thoughts flew in as though he had never been gone. "Kana-oh! Satoshi!" The red blur darted forward and Satoshi found himself being warmly embraced. "Satoshi! You're better now!"

"Yes; that indeed I am." The blue-haired boy nodded before looking his friend over. "Where have you been?" Daisuke turned around, gesturing at someone who was standing at the doorway.

The figure stepped forward and Satoshi could only stare in awe when his mind supplied him with the identity of the man. "Master Craftsman Dark Mousy?" he gasped out. The figure smirked at him, violet eyes glittering with amusement.

"Don't use the titles," he drawled. "I don't like them. Too much of a mouthful for anyone, anyway." Satoshi could only stare in awe, eyes taking in the simple but well-made clothing and the giant tessen strapped to the other man's back.

"What…" he swung his gaze to Daisuke, but before he could say anything the old healer shuffled out.

"Well," he croaked, "I see you're back, then" Daisuke nodded, ruby eyes sparkling. "And you found him," Kaname added as an afterthought. Dark raised an eyebrow at the old healer, wondering what he was talking about. "I told him to go find you that evening," the elderly man explained. Dark raised an eyebrow and was scoffed at. "Come now, man, surely you can understand?" Then to everyone's deep surprise, Dark bowed deeply.

"I thank you deeply, Kaname-san," he spoke formally. The healer merely shook a finger at him.

"Now, take care of him, Dark-san," the old healer cackled. "Before you lose him." As though to prove him wrong, Dark immediately made a grab for Daisuke and caught him in his arms, kissing him playfully. Satoshi silently looked elsewhere, not knowing what to do any more. There was a profound sense of loss in him now that the redhead would be leaving. A gnarled hand rested on his shoulder.

"You can stay here if you wish, boy," Kaname spoke gruffly, but it was clear that he cared for the other as a son. "You've been a great help, and I need an apprentice." At the surprised look on the other's face, he pointed out, "I'm not getting any younger and this body isn't what it used to be." Satoshi only needed to think for a second before nodding. He wouldn't mind spending his days helping the one who had healed him.

"Yes…that wouldn't be bad at all." The gruff old man nodded at him before turning to the burned housewife, his brows once more drawn downwards. Dark then approached the healer.

"Kaname-san, thank you very much." The words were simple, but no one could miss the sincerity in them. The wizened old healer turned to face the craftsman before waving a hand dismissively.

"You were meant for each other; anyone could see that," he said grumpily. "Now stop bothering me!" Everyone laughed, even the housewife.

This story ends as all good stories should-with the words, 'And they all lived happily ever after'. However, amongst the joy, there must be some sadness, for life goes on. Hideki Kaname, the old healer, passed away just three months after Dark and Daisuke left. His passing was felt throughout the land, but although everyone chalked it down to old age, Satoshi Hiwatari, his pupil, knew better. For Kaname was not human. He was a Half-Spirit, someone who had been reincarnated because he had been too pure for Hell, but too tainted for Heaven. He had been sent down a second time, to see what he would make of his life if he were given a second chance. Hideki Kaname's soul had been accepted into Heaven, and in a flash of light the old, gnarled healer was gone. So Satoshi mourned, for he knew there would never be another so wise or selfless as the white-haired, prickly old man.

* * *

Asha'doriya: 'Goodbye' in the local dialect.

(1) Tessen-a giant metal fan which can be used to slice people. The one that Dark carries is like a metal version of Temari's (from Naruto).

(2) Familiar spell much? (It's Satoshi's from my other fanfic, 'Trey'.)

(3) Banshee: A creature from Irish legend. She is seen before death occurs, and her scream is shrill and soul-piercing, and also heard before death.

That's it, guys! This is the longest one-shot for my Dark/Dai drabbles, and probably the most detailed one too. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope that you will review. So do me a favour and click that delightful little purple button please! Thanks for reading, and review! See you soon!


	4. Bad Neck Day

**Bad Neck Day: **

Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel.

Warnings: Fluff abound, AU-ish, sad attempts at humour.

A/N: I got the inspiration for this from an accident that I suffered (in which, not surprisingly, I screwed my neck up). So I decided that it wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, even if it is a bit clichéd and hackneyed. Oh, and a bit of shameless advertising here; I wrote something along the lines of 'Cellblock Tango' (from 'Chicago') and posted it up as a Naruto even though it does contain a little Dark/Dai. So if you're interested, please read and tell me what you thought of it. That'd be nice…mm yes, very nice indeed…so read and review please, and enjoy this latest 'drabble'.

* * *

Dark leapt into the air, a triumphant laugh on his lips as he reached for the ball. Three centimeters…two centimeters….one centimeter…CRACK. The ex-thief felt a burning pain shoot through his neck and he yelped, letting the ball go as he landed back on the ground in an undignified heap. There were groans of disappointment from his team before they all rushed over to see if he was all right. The first to reach him was Daisuke, followed by Takeshi. "Are you all right?" the redhead worriedly asked. Dark tried to look up at him but that pain intensified and he howled, clutching the sore spot. Everyone winced. "Dark!" The teacher ran over, looking somewhat worried. When he saw and heard what had happened from the purple-haired teen himself, he sighed.

"It sounds like you pulled a muscle," he commented. "Go down to the nurse…get someone to accompany you. Everyone else-continue!" Most people dashed off; only Daisuke remained.

"I'll go with him, Sensei," he respectfully said. The teacher nodded.

"No problem. Keep an eye on him; we don't need any more accidents." Dark scowled lightly before turning towards Daisuke.

"Come on, Dai-chan," he tried to lightly say, but the pain prevented him from looking at the redhead.

They walked down the flights of stairs to the nurse's office, Dark wincing every time his head was jolted, as it put strain on his neck. "Ooh!" Daisuke sighed.

"Look, Dark, we'll go a little slower, all right?" The other teen nodded slowly, wincing. Unfortunately, he could not walk in silence, as shown by his constant banter with Krad whenever he committed a theft.

"Hey, Dai-chan?"

Daisuke blushed lightly. "Don't call me that! It's embarrassing?" The older one merely laughed and ruffled his hair lightly before continuing.

"So, Dai-chan…how did you find the Maths quiz?"

Daisuke shrugged. "It was all right. I didn't like that question on ratios though." Dark lightly laughed.

"They're really not that difficult, once you get the hang of them," he pointed out.

"I guess you're right. But I don't get the hang of them" Daisuke retorted. "I just don't really get along with them, that's all." Dark nodded understandingly. They continued to chat until they arrived at the nurse's office. Luckily, she was in, and immediately pronounced that Dark had indeed pulled a muscle.

"You haven't been doing enough exercise lately, have you?" She asked, a twinkle in her grey eyes. Dark spluttered indignantly and Daisuke could just hear him cursing in various different languages. The nurse continued. "That's why you have a stiff neck. Now, I'll just bandage it up like so…" she demonstrated. "And keep your neck steady. Don't try and turn your head too quickly, and just take things easy, all right young man?" Dark was about to nod before the pain made itself known once more.

"Yes ma'am."

"Very good then." She gave Dark a pat on his makeshift 'neck cast' and smiled at Daisuke. "Off you go, and remember, try not to put any strain on your neck in the meantime!"

The two boys went through the rest of the day fairly quickly, although Dark soon got annoyed when everyone asked him what he'd done to deserve a neck cast. Things were the same when he got home; Emiko and Towa insisted on his staying in bed despite his insistence that a sore neck would not hamper his ability to move around the house. Even Daisuke babied him in his own way.

Dark stared out the window of his shared bedroom, wishing that he could move. He was restless; it didn't help that he had finished all of Daisuke's books and magazines and even his homework. He couldn't steal anything; his neck was 'too delicate' for that. He couldn't move because for some reason, as soon as he tried to swing his legs out of the bed, Emiko would appear and shove him back in again. He couldn't even talk to Daisuke, as he had gone out to work on a project with Satoshi. Dark rolled his eyes. _I'm so pathetic, _he thought wryly. With chirped from somewhere near his feet and Dark smiled fondly at the rabbit before leaning back and picking up a magazine.

"Tadaima!" Daisuke's familiar, warm tones floated up the stairs and Dark fairly leapt out of bed, more than overjoyed to hear his once-Tamer home. Unfortunately, this sudden movement caused pain to go shooting up his senses and Dark yelped, earning himself a glare from With.

Dark saw crimson make its way up and within moments he was being gently hugged by the younger boy. "Hey Dark," he mumbled into his neck. "How are you?" Dark chuckled.

"I'm being treated as an invalid. I'll never make fun of Daikii ever again, not even when he loses control of his—eh." Said grandfather was standing in the doorway, white eyebrows drawn downwards in what looked like a fierce glare, but humour twinkled in his eyes.

"Loses control of what?" Dark smiled sheepishly and squirmed away from the old man's gaze.

"Nothing…" he airily replied. Daikii shook his head.

"Well, it's dinner time. Emiko is busy with the table." Both boys nodded, saying that they would be down in a while. Daisuke immediately jumped off the bed and held out a hand to Dark.

"Do you need any help?" He asked worriedly. Dark laughed.

"I'm fine," he replied. "It's my neck, not my legs." He slowly got up, being careful not to jolt his head too much. Daisuke smiled at the way he was moving.

"Look at you," the redhead said laughingly. "Moving like you're older than Grandpa!" Dark growled and took a playful swipe at him, which Daisuke easily dodged.

Dinner passed in relative peace, apart from when Kosuke leaned over to take the salt from his son and knocked his own water glass over in the protest. To Emiko's and Daikii's amusement, he was so flustered after this accident that he dropped the soya sauce. Dark and Daisuke could only watch as Kosuke turned a beautiful shade of red (not unlike his son) and dashed for a towel with which to mop up the mess. "He's just like you, Dai-chan!" Daisuke's mother twittered.

Daisuke was working on his English homework whilst Dark watched, gloating over his having finished it earlier in the day. "I hope you and that guy didn't do anything other than work," Dark commented, eyes glowing jealously. Daisuke turned around to face him, a small smile on his lips.

Daisuke tapped his chin thoughtfully in a gesture that was all Emiko's. "Hm…well, no. Nothing much. We just went out for ice cream…" Dark squawked.

"Ew!" The younger one giggled in amusement and crimson met violet. Then Dark pounced on Daisuke and leaned closer, burying his face in the mass of thick red hair.

"But you'll always be mine!" He triumphantly proclaimed. Daisuke raised an eyebrow and mumbled, 'I beg to differ' into his darker half. Dark pulled away, shocked. "Why, Dai-chan!" He exclaimed. "You're such a player! Didn't anyone ever tell you it's mean to toy with others' affections?" Daisuke protested at this, pointing out that Dark himself had done the same thing to Risa on various occasions. With amusement, the thief noted that the petit redhead didn't mention himself.

Dark seductively whispered, "But it doesn't stop you from loving me." Daisuke broke out into a full blush and stammered as his boyfriend leaned downwards to nibble his ear. Then…"YEEEOW!" Dark's head jerked back upwards and the hand that was not around Daisuke's waist flew up to rub the injured point. The tiny redhead looked up sharply, eyes filled with worry.

"Dark!" Ignoring the fact that said teen seemed to be recovering quite quickly, Daisuke hastily guided him to the bed and made him sit down. "I'll get the ointment, okay? You just stay here." At the mutinous look on Dark's face, Daisuke looked at With. "Keep an eye on him please?" He asked the rabbit, which happily 'kyuued' in reply. "It's for your own good," he admonished his protesting lover.

He flopped down dejectedly, growling at the pain in his neck and rubbing it. The re-appearance of Daisuke made him perk up a little, although he was too distracted to even try thinking of a way to embarrass the redhead. "Come on," he heard Daisuke say. "Where does it hurt the most?" Dark glared at him; it was obvious, seeing as his fingers were still massaging the spot. Daisuke smiled sheepishly, blushing. "Ah." Tipping out a little of the ointment onto his fingers, he gently began to rub the sore spot in circles. _That feels…really good…_Dark thought before relaxing completely.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow and stifled a laugh as Dark began to purr. He continued to rub the sore spot, turning the task into a massage of sorts. He smiled lightly at the look on Dark's face and gently leaned down to peck his lips. "Mm…Dai…" the ex-thief muttered hazily. "Ahn…" He kissed back gently, one arm slinging itself around Daisuke's narrow shoulders and pulling him closer. They cuddled for a while and soon Daisuke placed the oil on the desk and leaned closer to Dark, reveling in the feeling of the older one's arms around him. They continued, the ex-thief running his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. Then…

"KYAA!" Both Dark and Daisuke flew at least three feet off the futon before landing with a crash. Emiko had walked in. Although she knew they were in a relationship, it didn't stop her from squealing with delight at how 'kawaii' they looked. After Daisuke had finally managed to get her out of his room (with the promise of a photo of them together) both boys relaxed once more.

"Heh," Dark laughed. Daisuke looked at him, bewildered, and then joined in. Then he rolled over and lightly brushed his fingers over Dark's neck, rubbing the sore spot gently.

"Is it better now?" The redhead asked.

Violet eyes studied him appraisingly and then Dark nodded carefully. "Yes. Much better."

Dark smiled at the young one in his arms. _Yes,_ he thought, _he really can turn everything around. _Wincing at the pain in his neck, he slowly shifted and fell asleep, still hugging Daisuke.

* * *

Another piece of fluff. Please, please review as it means so much to me (no, seriously, it does). Thank you for reading, and please write a review! 


	5. Never Miss A Real Good Thing

**You Never Miss a Real Good Thing:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel and I was inspired by the song, "Never Miss a Real Good Thing' by Crystal Gayle (country singer).

Warnings: Angst and love unrequited. The good stuff ;)

A/N: Here's the next one-shot, please review! Thanks for the support for the other chapters, by the way and I hope you enjoy this one.

* * *

Dark glared angrily at Daisuke, bristling at the last comment. "And you think I'm not?" he shot back. His eyes were flashing and there was no trace of the easy-going, playboy thief in him anymore. His whole being was consumed with rage and he was trembling with the force of his emotions. 

"Look, Dark, if all you're going to do is go out and smoke, drink and sleep around using _my _body, why on earth should I bother?" Daisuke shouted back, equally enraged.

"Just what business is it of yours what I do, anyway? Who do you think you are-my mother? Oh, I know, don't tell me!" Dark laughed bitterly. "You're trying to save me from myself, aren't you?" He laughed mockingly and looked at Daisuke. "Sorry to disappoint you, Dai-chan, but this isn't some love story. So get over it!"

Daisuke nearly howled in anger. _He is such a jackass! _He seethed. "It's my body! Of course I'll want a say in it! I let you use it because I _trusted _you, you stupid Kaitou you!"

The thief smiled smugly. "Hey, Daisuke," he said, sarcasm coating his voice so thickly it could have dripped onto the floor and made a glistening pool there. "I'm a _thief_-you said it yourself. Thieves do things that aren't allowed. It's a fact," he drawled. Right now, all he wanted to do was just ignore Daisuke and disappear. _But oh, no, _he thought angrily, _Little Miss Daisuke Niwa wants to blether on about trust issues. _Then he heard the next comment and all thoughts of disappearing vanished. _Hell no. You are not accusing me of _that.

"You didn't even _think _about what you were doing, did you?" Daisuke shouted. "I'll bet you didn't use _protection_, did you?" He sneered, the expression quite foreign to his normally smiling features.

The thief threw back his head and burst out laughing, mocking Daisuke and aggravating him further. "Just what would _you_, someone who's never been kissed, _know _about that?" Dark was operating purely on rage now, but before he could say anything else, Daisuke cut him off, rushing blindly onwards.

"I sure as hell know a lot more than you obviously think I do, Dark!" The redhead snapped back. "You know what? I wish we didn't _have _this bloody curse. I wish Krad had really managed to murder you in that museum last week. I wish you'd disappear and never come back. Or even better-I wish you'd just do us all a favour and drop dead!" His voice dripped with venom and rage. Dark took a step back, stunned at the tirade flowing forth from the redhead's lips. Something inside him snapped and he stepped forward, looming over Daisuke.

"You're right," he coldly said. "It's clear I'm not doing anything for Azumano except depriving it of all the lovely artwork that hangs on the walls of the museums. It's clear that I'm a bad influence on Harada-san," The name was sneered, "and it's clear that I'm certainly not welcome. You're right. I'll just go and fling myself off the dock, shall I Dai-chan?" There was no more heat in his voice, no more passion. His normally lively eyes were dark and empty and he seemed to have lost that confident aura that drew so many girls to him. "Good night." With those words, he walked out the door.

Daisuke watched the door shut and glared, annoyed. _He had no right to do that! _He thought angrily. _He had no right to take advantage of my giving him a solid form like that! _He wasn't worried about Dark's throwing himself off a dock or committing suicide because first of all, the guy was all for survival. Secondly, Daisuke was too angry to even think about anything other than just what Dark had done wrong. He thought back to how he'd been rudely awakened.

_-Flashback-_

_He was sleeping, although in a corner of his brain he knew that he was probably flying around somewhere, as he had allowed Dark to transform into himself using his body and just go out. Daisuke didn't think it was fair that Dark, someone who obviously enjoyed life so much, should be subjected to being cooped up just because his Tamer was trying to sleep. Hence the freedom. _

_As he slept, his subconscious picked up things. Flashing strobe lights whirled across his vision, dim figures moved and swayed and laughter permeated his senses. He didn't mind; there was nothing new about this atmosphere and he knew that Dark liked nightclubs. It wasn't much of a surprise, really._

_He was slowly sinking deeper into unconsciousness when something hot and foul poured into his lungs. It continued and Daisuke soon coughed awake, red eyes glinting slightly even though where he was, there was no light. He felt lightheaded, woozy. _What…? _He wanted to look out through Dark's eyes, to watch the world around him and see what the thief was doing. Daisuke concentrated on the outside, forcing himself not to change but to see, to watch over Dark's shoulder in a faded, ghostlike form. The purple-haired thief had taught him this trick a few days ago and he wanted to try it out as well as check on his alter ego. _

_What he saw shocked him. Well, not so much shocked as angered. Dark was leaning against the headboard of a bed which was obviously in some cheap motel room, smoking. _Probably upstairs from the club, _Daisuke thought. Some brunette cat of a woman leaned against him, her eyes hooded and her lips glistening red. Her nails raked down his chest gently and Dark's chest moved as he chuckled and leaned in closer, moving the cigarette out of the way. He was drunk, Daisuke noted. His movements held none of the grace that they usually did, although he was certainly more alert than most intoxicated people were. The kiss deepened but he was unable to tear his eyes away, blushing furiously with anger and embarrassment. "Dark!" He shouted. "DARK!" Dark jerked upwards, startled and then his violet eyes widened as Daisuke made himself known in the presence of his mind. He had his arms crossed and his eyes were blazing. "Go home, Dark. We can talk there." The redhead's voice was low and deadly and he was trying to hold back tears. Dark tried to protest and leaned in for another kiss, but he wasn't going to get anything done, what with Daisuke pestering him. "DARK! HAUL YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED AND GET HOME, NOW!"_

_-Geez, all right Dai-chan, all right.- The kaitou apologized profusely to the catty brunette, who looked annoyed. He moved his lips, but Daisuke couldn't hear what he said; he was too angry to listen anymore. Then the woman slapped him across the face, nails dragging across the smooth skin and leaving red trails behind. He staggered back, shocked. Then he glared and pulled on his shirt, shouting something back at her. Dark stormed out of the little room and flew home on With, making sure that he wasn't seen. _

_-End Flashback-_

Daisuke growled angrily at the memory of the scene in the bedroom. It was clear that the pair had slept together and the redhead couldn't help but wonder whether this meant that he would end up with lung cancer somewhere along the line, what with the cigarette smoke. It was, after all, technically his body that was taking the abuse. Dark had also been drunk, as shown by the alcohol on his breath and his slight swaying as he walked up into Daisuke's bedroom. Thankfully, no one had woken up. The redhead sighed again, wondering what to do. A feeling of betrayal crept in and he sniffed a little, knowing that his crush would never return his feelings.

**Dark: **

He looked at the sky thoughtfully, dangling his feet into the dock and ignoring his dripping hair. He'd dunked his head into the cool water and it had instantly sobered him up. He was still dressed in his party clothes and in his 'solid' form. Not Daisuke's body-more like a solid one of his own. However, he would have to return to Daisuke in twelve hours' time, as the spell only lasted that long and Dark could not keep recasting it. He sighed, blowing a strand of damp hair out of his face. The tugging at him was increasing-a sure sign that Black Wings was soon going to awaken. _I wonder if Krad feels this, _he thought wryly. He'd gone a little wild tonight, more so than usual. Still, Daisuke had no right to accuse him of indiscretion upon his behalf and he scowled at the thought. _It's not like I do it regularly, _he thought irritably, annoyed at the way Daisuke had accused him of irresponsibility. _You'd think that he'd remember all those times I've saved his scrawny ass would count for something, _he bitterly thought, _but does it? Oh no it doesn't!_

He took another deep drag of the cigarette in his hand and continued glaring at the sea and stars, just thinking about things. He'd gone wild tonight because he knew that he didn't have very muchmore timein this world and he just wanted to enjoy himself a little, like any normal teenager. His violet eyes glinted and he gently raised a hand to touch his cheek, feeling the scratches that that bitch had left behind. _She didn't seem so bad when we first started talking, _he thought to himself ruefully. _Whatever. _He stood up and stretched, his frame twisting. _I guess…_leaving that thought unfinished, he turned around and headed home.

The next few weeks were pretty much the same-he would bug Daisuke and the other would inevitably do something embarrassing in the view of all his classmates. There was no more talk of that night, but both Tamer and angel knew that things would never be the same between them again. There was an unspoken tension and sometimes one of them would deliberately make a stinging comment, intending to hurt the other. They both knew it. Then Black Wings awakened.

Dark pushed Krad up against the wall of Black Wings, pulling out a feather as he did so. The golden one screamed in fury and pushed back, desperately trying to get out before Black Wings closed around him. Already the piece of art was shifting and creaking ominously and its ribs were fast closing. In a last desperate attempt, Krad screamed, "You idiot! You'll seal us both in!" Dark smiled and continued to perform the spell, knowing that there was now no way that Krad would be able to reverse it. With a sad smile, he vanished. His last feeling was one of regret that he could not tell Daisuke why he had broken trust.

They stood there, on the cliff, watching the rising sun. Daisuke bowed his head silently, listening to Satoshi. He smiled at the way the blue-haired detective solemnly promised to have more fun in the future. He might have more intelligence than most adults, but in some ways he was just like everyone else. "Can I keep this coat?" Daisue nodded silently and thought, _That's-that was-Dark's. _He felt empty now. _I never said the things I wanted to say, _he thought before Riku grabbed him and he hugged her.

**Twenty years later: **

"Dad! Dad!" Fourteen year old Daigo Niwa ran in, purple locks flying around his head. "What's going on? Why do I look like this?" His voice was shocked, but less scared than Daisuke's had been at that age, when he'd first found out about the family curse.

Daisuke whirled around, already knowing what-or more accurately-_who _he was going to see. "You've transformed, son," he gently said. He expected a scream or something dramatic like what he himself had done, but his son seemed to _like _it.

"That's cool!" Daigo whirled around, laughing. "I'm Kaitou Dark!" Daisuke sighed.

"Well, I guess that means I'll have to start sending out warning notices," he dryly replied. "And of course, find out…no wait, I know who your Sacred Maiden is." Wiping his hands dry and ignoring his son's claims that he didn't like anyone 'in that way', he grabbed a sheet of paper from the stack near the telephone and scribbled something on it. Grabbing his coat, he walked out of the door and headed for the museum where the 'Daughter of Dreams' was being displayed. It was child's play for him to leave the note somewhere where it would be found and he returned home.

**Fifteen minutes later: **

"So you mean he's like an alter personality?" Daisuke nodded. "Neat!" His son laughed.

"You're going to be stealing the Daughter of Dreams tonight," he told his son before leaving the room to get some of his darker clothes out. "I'll get some dark clothes-it won't help if you're wearing bright red into the museum." Daigo laughed and walked back into his room, leaving Daisuke to sigh and lean against the back of the squashy sofa. _Twenty years and still acting like a schoolboy, _he mused to himself before sighing. Well, what was past was past. He doubted Dark had completely forgiven him and now that he had had twenty years to brood over things, he didn't think that the thief would be in a mood to forgive. Then a flash of purple caught his eyes and he looked up once more. "Daigo?"

"I'm not your son." The familiar, deep voice shivered along his senses and for a moment Daisuke could pretend that he was fourteen again. "Well now, it's been a long time. Did you miss me?" Was there a hint of sarcasm in there? Daisuke could not hear it. The redhead gave a non-committal shrug.

"Aw, that's a pity then." Dark looked at him. "Who did you knock up then?"

Daisuke shook his head in response. "I didn't knock anyone up, Dark." He gave a short laugh. "She should be home soon."

Dark walked over and Daisuke felt himself go red in the face again. _Stop it! _He scolded himself. _You're not fourteen anymore and you are not going to jump Dark and tell him you're sorry. You are a responsible adult of thirty-four, now act like it! _"You're going to steal—"

"The Daughter of Dreams, I know." Dark cut him off abruptly. There was still a hint of awkwardness between them. He gave Daisuke an unreadable look and then joined him on the sofa, where they sat in stifling silence for a few moments. Then the thief started talking again. "You know, Daisuke," he softly said, "I…I wish we'd mended things." Daisuke didn't need to think to know what he was talking about.

"Yeah," he said shortly. "I guess—"

"It's okay," The purple-haired teen cut him off. "I was being a jackass too. Like you said." They laughed uncomfortably before Dark continued. "I…I wanted to tell you sorry but…"

"Pride?" It was Daisuke's turn to interrupt. Dark nodded; it was easier than saying he was afraid of rejection. They sat in silence for a while longer, staring at the clock as its hands moved closer towards the scheduled time. With nestled at their feet, waiting for his master to call him.

"I loved you," Dark softly said. Daisuke gave him a sharp look before his mind registered the past tense. _Oh. _"I loved you," the thief continued. "I loved everything about you. And…I think…" Daisuke held his breath, unsure of whether to cry. "I think I still love you," Dark whispered. "I wish things could have turned out a little more differently." When he saw the look on Daisuke's face, he shook his head. "It's okay," he said. "You can tell me. I'll be going soon anyway, so it won't really matter."

"I…" _Say it! _Daisuke told himself. _Say it! _He was fourteen once more, free from the chains of duty. Then he remembered. _No, _he told himself sadly. _I can't. I'm married now, and I have a son. I can't. _

"Please," Dark was almost begging now. "Just say something, Daisuke. Anything. I don't care if you reject me; shrink away in disgust if you will, but please, _do _something!" His voice trembled and Daisuke wanted to hold him and comfort him, but his body remained perfectly still.

"I…I loved you as a brother," he softly said, the lie tearing him apart. "I loved you as a brother." He was proud of how steady his voice was and how serenely he behaved. "I'm sorry." The lie continued to rip him apart, filling his heart with an ache that burned. He reached for the box of tissues on the coffee table and silently handed them to Dark. He could see the unshed tears in his eyes, even if he didn't verbally acknowledge them. "I'm sorry Dark."

The thief nodded, then stood up. His voice was calm but there was a single tear resting lightly on the tip of his nose. "I'll be going then," he said. His voice was steady, as steady as Daisuke's was. "I'm sorry about that night," he said before he walked out into the night. Minutes later, Daisuke saw a figure soar into the air. The dam broke and he sat down and buried his face in his hands, tears leaking out from between his fingers. _I'm so sorry, Dark. Forgive me. _Riku found him in this position when she came home for dinner.

_You never miss a real good thing  
Till he says goodbye. _

-Crystal Gayle, 'Never Miss A Real Good Thing'


	6. Dragon Changeling

**Dragon Changeling: **

Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel.

Warnings: AU, shounen-ai

A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews guys, I appreciate them very much. I just finished my Art exam (first exam of many) and I must say, development and prep took a LOT of time. If you're thinking of doing Art for your GCSEs, I would advise you not to unless you really really love Art or you're planning on art college, graphic design or something of the sort. I'm warning you; it's a LOT of work and it's not as much fun as everyone thinks it is, especially in the weeks leading up to the exam. Well anyways thanks for the support and enjoy! Oh, and in response to a review, I'm sorry for the indiscrepancy there but it's always possible that Black Wings was broken once more, considering that it was 're-sealed' only forty years ago (Daikii Niwa's time) and if Dark and Krad were really sealed, why did they manifest themselves in Daisuke's generation again? Well, whatever. Thanks for the feedback.

* * *

Daisuke stretched and yawned lazily as he looked around at the familiar surroundings. Closing them again, he prayed to the gods above that they would keep his family happy and healthy, a ritual that he had performed every day since he'd left home. Then he yawned again and sat up, crimson eyes glowing faintly in the darkness of the cave. Concentrating hard on his other form, he let the magic surround him and moments later he soared out of the cave, ready to resume his journey. 

Dark was irritated beyond all belief. His father had dragged him out of bed at three in the morning, determined to show him something. Unfortunately, this 'something' happened to be hiding in the middle of the woods. So now he was traipsing behind the hunting party and growling all the while about it. "Dad," he said, trying to sound mature and not like a child whining, "Why are we out here again?"

The men up ahead laughed raucously and not for the first time, Dark wondered if they had scared the 'something' off with all the noise they were making. "Hoi, Kai, your son's asking something!" One of them called.

Obsidian eyes glanced back at his son. Kai Mousy sighed and pushed his unruly purple hair out of his eyes before slowing his pace. "Go ahead," he told the rest. "I'll catch up with you." He waited for his son and then looked down at him, wondering what he had done. He loved his son very much, but he could not understand the boy, no matter how hard he tried. "Dark," he said, "We're going to see something special. It's a rare creature." His son merely gave him a look and continued to walk as though he had not heard anything. Kai sighed and speeded up a little, determined to instill a sense of respect into his son. Before he could say anything more, Dark just shook his head and jumped over a large rock.

**Fifteen minutes later: **

Daisuke sat atop a flat rock, leaning slightly against a tree. He stuffed a handful of berries into his mouth and chewed happily. Having spent most of his life outdoors with his family, he was accustomed to feeling the sun on his skin and the wind in his hair. Surprisingly enough, he also liked feeling the rain on his skin and would often go out in thunderstorms to play. So he was content. The sound of voices then reached his ears and the snake lying near his feet raised its head abruptly, tongue flickering out to feel the air currents. _Run, brother,_ it hissed urgently before slithering off. The redhead frowned slightly before the voices became louder and he realized that he should have left with the snake. He wanted to summon his other form and take to the skies in haste, but his mind was so clouded with curiosity and fear that he could not concentrate properly. The sound of the noise was coming ever closer and he could not do anything, save hide behind a tree. He knew it was a paltry hiding place and hardly fit for the situation, but he couldn't do anything about it.

"I saw it here!" Daisuke winced at his own carelessness and promised himself right there and then that he would never ignore his mother's advice ever again. _I hope they saw something else,_ he worried.

"Kai," a new voice said. It was a rich tenor and Daisuke could tell that the man was a good singer.

"Maurice," 'Kai' replied.

"Are you sure you didn't just see a snake and mistake it for something else? I mean, we were out pretty late last night, and it _was _dark…" The lilting voice held a slightly hesitant note to it and Daisuke wondered whether they had been anywhere near his resting area.

"I know I didn't." Kai's voice was firm, brooking no argument. Maurice gave up and went ahead, searching. Daisuke hoped that Kai and the rest of the people would follow him and he could leave. His heart rose in hope as the rest of the people grumbled and followed Maurice. _Now to get rid of Kai,_ Daisuke thought. He had come across this spell back home, when he'd been reading some of his father's magic books. It required telepathy and hopefully he could 'suggest' that Kai leave and take any stragglers with him. Daisuke closed his eyes and slowly began to concentrate until he felt a light pressure on his arm. Crimson orbs flew open and Daisuke stared in fright and shock at the man in front of him, whom he presumed to be Kai.

"Who are you?" Daisuke could only stare, trembling. _Is he going to hurt me? Is he going to clip my wings and use them for machines? What will he do? _All the tales of humans that he had heard as a child rushed through his head. His mother's voice, "If you don't go to bed now, I'll give you to the humans!" His father, "Little changelings who misbehave get taken away by the humans!" Grandfather's voice, "They say that humans destroy everything in their path, bent on dominating Mother Nature and bending her to their will…" A tear made its way down Daisuke's cheek and he sniffled, scared.

A loud shout echoed through the forest and Kai looked up just in time to see his son crash onto the ground and drop his bag. He could only sigh. Dark might be incredibly clever when it came to street smarts, but he was a lost cause in the forest. Daisuke peeped over his shoulder, straining to see the source of the noise and curiosity getting the better of him. He almost giggled when he saw how comical the other looked but the gravity of the situation was soon recalled to him as violet met crimson. Daisuke hastily looked away and the man-Kai-bent down to talk to him. "Where do you come from?" His voice was coaxing and gentle.

Daisuke shook his head, afraid to say anything. "It's dangerous out here, don't you know that?" This time the redhead forgot himself enough to scowl in indignation.

"I'm not stupid," he replied without thinking. Then his face turned a bright red and he hastily covered his mouth with his hands, eyes wide. Kai raised an eyebrow whilst the other boy snickered.

"All right," the other teenager asked, "What were you doing out here then, since you're obviously so attuned to the forest?" _You have no idea, _Daisuke thought wryly. He blushed and fidgeted, unable to come up with a satisfactory answer. Right now, he envied Takeshi's ability to lie his way out of anything and he wished that his talkative friend was by his side. Kai sighed.

"Well, you can come with us." With those words, he straightened up and looked at Dark. "As for you, son, I suggest you pay attention to the ground." Placing two fingers to his lips, he whistled three times, a sharp, piercing noise that made Daisuke want to cover his sensitive ears.

**Village: **

They all stared at the redhead who'd joined the party, surprise and curiosity etched into their faces. A few girls giggled and blushed when his gaze fell upon them and Daisuke cocked his head to one side, not quite sure what they found so amusing. However, his attention was soon diverted to Kai's house. He looked at the purple haired teenager next to him and blushed, realising that he must be Kai's son. After all, judging from the rest of the humans, it didn't seem to be a very common hair colour. Kai turned to the two boys behind him and smiled slightly, trying to put Daisuke at ease. "You can stay here," he told the redhead kindly. "My son won't object to sharing a room with you." With those words, he turned around and walked off. Daisuke blinked. _In our culture, we usually _show _the person to where they will be staying, _he thought. _Humans are very different indeed. _

Dark turned to Daisuke, exhaling and ruffling some of his bangs as he did so. "Well, come on then," he told the other. "I'm not going to wait all day." Daisuke merely shuffled his feet and looked around, seemingly reluctant to go into the house. Truth be told, he was just amazed. The humans didn't seem so different from his kind, after all. They too had large houses and buildings made of stone. The only difference was that many of them were carrying things in their hands. He looked at one building, which was entirely made out of stone and looked very grand compared to the other houses around him. He looked at Dark and then realised he didn't know the other's name.

"Um…" He shyly tugged at the teen's sleeve, not sure of what to expect. Dark raised an eyebrow and turned to face him.

"Yah?"

Daisuke looked up at the purple haired human. "What's that?" He asked quietly, pointing at the large building. Dark looked in the direction in which he was pointing and blinked. "That's the meeting place. Everyone goes there when something big happens, like the fair or when the traders come."

Daisuke stared. _Traders? Fair? What's he talking about? _He didn't understand the concept of trade, as back home they had always been able to make whatever they'd needed with magic. "What are traders? And what's a fair?" He noticed that his host's attention was somewhere else and he also looked, just in time to see a harried looking middle-aged human woman come over.

"Dark-san!" She bowed politely and smiled at him, her white teeth flashing. "I hear you came back with something more than just a catch this morning!" She cheerfully remarked. Dark nodded whilst Daisuke noted that Kai's son's name was Dark.

"Uh, yes," he said. "We, uh, found someone." He awkwardly gestured at Daisuke, unsure of whether it was fair or not to talk about him as though he were not there. The lady's gaze swung towards him and Daisuke warily smiled back, unsure of what to do.

"My goodness," the lady exclaimed. "He's so striking!" Dark blinked and Daisuke flushed, unsure of what to do as she continued to speak. "You've got lovely hair," she told Daisuke.

"Ah…" Neither boy said anything until Kai came out again.

"Misaki-san!" He cheerily exclaimed. "How are you this morning?" He saw the two boys fidgeting and raised an eyebrow. "I was just coming out to get…hm…?" He shot a questioning look at Daisuke, who mumbled his name. Kai leaned closer. "I'm sorry?"

"Dai," the redhead whispered, not wanting to reveal his full name.

"Dai," the older man repeated. "Dark, why didn't you bring him in?"

"I was going to, but then he started asking questions!" The purple-haired teen shot back. Daisuke could sense the odd tension between father and son. It wasn't bad tension, like the kind that always shot up between his mother and his aunt. It was an awkward tension, the kind that was found between two strangers who had been shut in a room and told to talk to each other. _Humans aren't that different from us, _he thought.

Dark looked down at the redhead next to him. He seemed lost in thought; his eyes were glazed over and he had a dreamy look on his face. "Hey," he said, "Let's go up. I'll show you around later, okay?" As they went up the stairs, Dark wondered just where Daisuke had come from. Every county and village had its own town hall and meeting place for market. How could this…teenager _not _know what markets and traders were?

"You still haven't answered my question." Dark looked down at Daisuke.

"Huh?"

"You know," the redhead stomped his foot impatiently. "What's a fair? And what are traders?" The purple-haired teen stared. _He was being serious, _he thought incredulously.

"We-ell…a fair is when people…uh…get together. To…um…celebrate stuff. You know, like the first harvest, the end of winter, the summer solstice, things like that. There are games and competitions, and lots of food." He warmed to the topic, although part of him still found it strange that Daisuke didn't know such common things. "It's a chance for people to get together and dance and enjoy themselves." Daisuke nodded, trying to absorb the information and grasp this concept. _We don't have anything like this 'fair' back home, _he thought.

"It sounds interesting," he shyly said. Dark nodded vigorously.

"Oh yeah, it is. One year, Krad-he's my cousin-and I rounded up a few pigs and set them loose in the village square. It was hilarious." Dark smiled, remembering just how much chaos had been caused from that one action. Daisuke stared.

"Why would you do that?" Daisuke couldn't see the fun in wreaking havoc amongst villagers.

Dark stared. "It's…it's one of those things that you have to do to be able to see the fun in it," he finally said. He didn't know how to explain the concept to Daisuke. To his relief, Daisuke merely nodded.

"So what's a trader then?"

"Just where do you come from?" Dark asked. "Don't you have traders in your village?" Daisuke just shook his head, blushing at his ignorance.

"It's okay then," the redhead quietly said. "You don't have to tell me. I…I guess I wasn't cut out for this, huh?" He weakly smiled at Dark. Amethyst eyes closed and Dark shook his head quickly.

"I didn't mean to imply that!" He quickly said. "I mean…I guess there are some places that traders don't go to…" His attempts to explain himself failed and Daisuke quietly began to walk to the village gate. "Hey, where're you going?"

Daisuke turned back. "I'm…I'm leaving," he said. "I don't think…I don't think I'll fit in here." _I just want to go back home right now, _he thought sadly. _But I can't. I have to stay away from my kind for another six months at least before I can return home. _His friend Takeshi had gone on his yearlong journey and returned just recently. The stories he'd told were amazing; according to him, humans had large places called 'cities', where the buildings were taller than the trees and had spires reaching up to the heavens. The humans who lived in these places were rich and had more authority over the people in their area. The males were known as 'lords' and the females 'ladies'. According to Takeshi, many humans were kind and didn't mind questions, although he admitted later on that they'd looked at him strangely more than once when he'd asked what they called the large grand houses that rich people lived in. _How did he manage to get so much information? _Daisuke wondered.

He felt a tug at his shirt and whipped around. "What?" he demanded. "I'm leaving, I'm not going to stay here and screw up your life. I'm going, all right?" Homesickness and fear made him snappish; his mother always said that.

Dark's eyes showed hurt and Daisuke felt just a little guilty. "I don't mind you staying in my room," Dark said shortly. "I was going to show you around this place." Daisuke stared before smiling widely and for a fleeting moment, Dark felt his heart skip a beat and he felt a little lightheaded. _He looks good when he smiles, _Dark thought. "C'mon then," he said, holding out a hand to the redhead. "Let's start from here."

The pair walked through the village, Dark acting as tour guide and pointing out all the 'places of interest' such as the baker's, the butcher's, the blacksmith's and the inn. To his amusement, Daisuke asked about everything. He even inquired in the most naïve way what the 'large wooden box with fire underneath it' was for. Dark had been lost until Daisuke pointed at the oven. Strangely enough, the redhead liked the blacksmith's place the most. He had gazed intently into the roaring flames of the forge until Dark pulled him away. In this way the afternoon passed and both found themselves enjoying their time together.

"Where do you come from?" Dark asked again. Daisuke and he were in his room, looking at the stars from the window. The redhead was entranced by the sight of them and had even shown Dark some constellations that he had never heard about as well as told him their legends. Strangely enough, many of them had to do with dragons. At this question, Daisuke jumped and blushed, fidgeting with his nightshirt.

"I…" Daisuke didn't want to lie, not to his new friend, but he knew that he couldn't tell the truth either. _Otherwise the humans will come and drive us out again, like they did before. _"I…I don't really know," he said. It was a half-lie; no one knew exactly where the Dragon Kin had come from, but it wasn't the answer to what Dark was asking.

"So you're an orphan?" Daisuke shook his head.

"Iie…uh…we travel a lot." That was true. Dark suddenly grabbed his chin gently but firmly and pulled him closer. Despite his protests, Dark didn't let go and with his other hand, gently traced his features, eyes sharp. Daisuke felt a blush coming on as he realized just how close they were. Suddenly the warm hand on his chin was gone and Dark had pulled back, frowning lightly.

"You don't look like gypsy blood." _Huh? _Daisuke panicked. _What's a gypsy? _

"How do you know?" The redhead challenged. Dark shrugged.

The two boys went back to looking at the stars and Daisuke reflected upon what he had learnt that day. He'd certainly learnt a lot more today than he had in the last six months and the pangs of homesickness were now gone, thanks to Dark. He still thought of home and wanted to go back, but the longing wasn't as strong as it had been this afternoon before his tour of the village. It wasn't long before Dark's father told them to go to bed. Before he slept, Daisuke offered up a prayer for his clan and prayed that he would not change halfway through the night. It happened now and again.

**Early morning: **

Dark groaned as his eyelids fluttered open and he stared into the inky blackness of his room. The pressure on his bladder was insistent and he knew that he would have to go relieve himself. After doing so in the chamber pot (he felt awkward doing it in front of a sleeping person), he rinsed his hands outside and let the night wind soothe him a little before heading back into the house and back to his confusing roommate. _He's so odd, it's as though he's never seen such things before in his life. He's like a child, _Dark thought as he looked at Daisuke's sleeping face. _So peaceful. _Then without warning, something hard struck his leg. The teenager glanced down, trying to figure out what it was in the gloom. Then the hard thing hit his leg again. _What the…? _A glow suddenly lit up the room and Dark could only stare as Daisuke's soft features began to change. His red hair grew longer and wilder and that peaceful face suddenly became much more reptilian. Red scales started to pop out all over his skin and Dark found himself staring at a creature he thought only existed in fairy tales-a dragon. His first thought was to scream, and then he caught himself. _It's not like he's doing any harm, _he told himself sternly. _Calm down. _

Minutes ticked by and Dark just stared at the dragon sleeping in his bed, curled up into a ball. _So that's why he didn't know much about villages, _he mused. Then the fairy tales all came back in a rush. Dragons destroyed things, didn't they? They were powerful, but they certainly didn't go around in human guise. They certainly weren't as docile as Dai was, either. They were supposed to be fire-breathing, frightening, _evil _monsters. He found himself re-thinking everything he'd ever seen in books or heard in stories.

Morning soon arrived and Daisuke still hadn't changed back. Dark now kept glancing towards the door; he wasn't sure how his father would react if he saw a dragon in the house. Carefully placed a hand to the dragon's claw, Dark began to tug at it. "Wake up, Dai," he whispered into one red ear. "Wake up." The ear twitched, but the dragon didn't wake up. Instead, it curled itself into a tighter ball and wrapped its large red wings around itself, forming a cocoon (everyone together now: awwwwww). "Dai, wake up!" He whispered urgently. Finally, one crimson eye cracked open and in a flash of bright light, Daisuke was back in 'human form' again. His eyes were wild and he looked like he was about to panic.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me!" The redhead pleaded. His ruby eyes glistened with tears.

Dark shook his head. "Don't worry," he said in a soothing voice before gently pulling Daisuke in for a hug. He missed the contact; ever since his mother had died, he hadn't gotten any hugs, as Kai Mousy was not a physical person. Added to this, it comforted the other boy-dragon-whatever immensely, as his frail body relaxed within his arms. Dark leaned into the mass of red hair, inhaling the younger one's spicy scent deeply and closing his eyes.

Daisuke was confused. He felt safe in Dark's arms, but he knew that he shouldn't. _What if he sells me out? _He shut his eyes, feeling Dark all around him. _Please…_he thought, although he didn't know what he was pleading for. "I think," Dark spoke softly into his head, breath tickling his scalp, "you'd better tell me the whole story." Daisuke sighed and looked up at Dark. After gathering his thoughts, he began to narrate his tale.

"And that's why I'm here," he finished off. Dark stared in amazement at the tale he'd just heard.

"A familiar story," a new voice commented from the doorway. Both boys jumped and turned to look at Kai, who was still dressed in his nightshirt. His coal black eyes were glistening and Dark couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. Kai, his father, his calm, collected, unemotional father, was about to cry. The purple haired man walked over to Daisuke and smiled slightly. "I could tell you weren't human when I saw you," he softly said. Daisuke's eyes widened as the man continued. "Your behaviour only served to convince me further and your tale confirmed my suspicions." He turned to Dark.

"Your mother was like him," he nodded at Daisuke. "She was beautiful." His voice was low and Daisuke could tell that he was struggling to stay composed.

"There's nothing to say about Mother," Dark said shortly. "She died because she had scarlet fever. I know. I saw it!" Daisuke could only gasp as a long buried story re-surfaced in his memory. _Sumin was the fairest of the Dragon Kin…but she chose a human…she did not live long after…_

"I know. What I'm trying to say is…" Kai sat on the ground, his eyes filled with the pain of old memories. "You're not…fully human. You have Dragon Kin blood. It's not a lot, but it's going to manifest itself soon." Dark barked out a harsh laugh.

"Well, I'm going to be leaving soon, Father," he told Kai. "I won't stay for much longer in this place." He turned to Daisuke. "Is it all right if I travel for a while with you?" Daisuke smiled and nodded.

"But are you sure you want to leave this place?" he asked. Dark nodded.

"It's stifling here. I don't want to be cooped up forever. I want to roam, to explore this land. There's so much out there that I don't know." Daisuke smiled.

"You could come to my home, you know," he shyly offered. Kai then stood up, reminding them of his presence.

"Dark…" his voice was still low. "I…I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I can only wish you the best and pray that you will always be safe." The words didn't contain any emotion in them, but Dark caught the meaning clearly. His father was trying to tell him, in his own unique way, that he would not stop Dark from leaving and that he loved him.

"Aa." The amethyst-eyed teen felt a lump growing in his throat and a hot prickle behind his eyes. _Father, _he thought. _The one who's always been there for me. The one who continued to raise me despite the loss of his wife. The one who continued to raise me even though he could tell that I was restless, that I would leave him one day. The one who continued to raise me even though I wasn't completely human, or the kind of son that he wished for. _"Thank you…" he softly whispered. Then father caught son in a hug and Daisuke looked away, knowing that it was a family moment.

"Well," Kai said. "As much of a farewell scene as this was, you're not going to go off with Daisuke without anything. I will prepare your supplies and find some maps for you."

"That's fine," Daisuke said. "I'm going to fly…" he lowered his eyes as he said this, still worried about how Dark and Kai would react to such open discussion of draconic traits. Then he locked eyes with Dark and continued more bravely. "I'm going to fly through the land, just stopping where I will. It'll mostly be in forest though, so if you want meat you'll have to catch it." Dark nodded. Kai smiled slightly and punched his son on the shoulder in an affectionate gesture.

"Well son, I guess we'll be seeing how much you've learned from watching me hunt soon," he commented. "Now come on. We have much to do."

**Two days later: **

There was a knock on the door. Dark opened it to find the local priest standing on the doorstep. His gray eyes were grave and he was holding his charms. "I have heard that you harbour a dragon here," he said. Dark blinked.

"No we don't," he automatically said.

"Nevertheless," the priest said, "I would like to see the one you brought from the woods."

Dark nodded and then turned around. "Let me first get my father. But don't wait outside; come in." Kai Mousy soon appeared and the two men headed into the kitchen to talk whilst Daisuke and Dark continued their packing upstairs. A shout and the sound of chairs scraping backwards caught their ears and both boys rushed downstairs to see what the matter was. To their dismay, the priest and Kai were quarrelling.

"It's not right!" Kai shouted angrily. "Is it moralistic to kill something that's never harmed you just because you fear it? You do not understand!"

The priest stood his ground, eyes cold and voice quiet. "It is you who does not understand," he quietly said. "Dragons are evil creatures. This one has trapped you-can you not see? He is even red-the colour of blood and death." He tried to advance, but was blocked by the taller man.

Daisuke let out a soft sob at this point, shocked at how fierce this man was and how determined he was to believe that all dragons were evil. Being naïve and idealistic, he pushed his way past Kai, ignoring the Mousys' protests and warnings. He stood in front of the priest, eyes glowing with the light that his clan was famous for.

"Not all Dragon Kin are evil!" Daisuke cried. "It is those who have gone to the Dark Side that turn humans against us! We are just like you-there are good dragons and there are—" He was cut off by the priest.

"QUIET!" The man roared. "HOW DARE YOU COMPARE YOURSELVES TO HUMANS? HOW DARE YOU—" Apparently consumed with rage, he lashed out blindly. Daisuke hastily blocked the blow, thanking his clan for the combat training. "UNHOLY CREATURE!" The man screamed. "YOU HAVE DECEIVED AND DEFILED THESE INNOCENTS!" Dark rushed forward, scared now.

"He hasn't done anything!" Dark snapped. "We just found him in the woods and my father took him home, thinking that he had no shelter and nowhere to go! Is that wrong? Is that not what the Good Book says we should do? Give help to the needy? That's what he was doing!" The priest did not hear him, a fanatical gleam in his eyes. He turned to Kai.

"Your son is bewitched, more so than you are," he calmly said.

Daisuke chose this time to defend himself. "What? I haven't bewitched anyone! I haven't done anything whilst I've been here!" Kai nodded, dark obsidian eyes defying the priest silently. Suddenly the man seemed to calm down and his fire vanished. Everyone relaxed. Well, everyone except for Dark. He didn't like the way the priest was looking over at Daisuke every now and again, as though he was plotting something.

"Forgive me." The priest's voice was now quiet and subdued. He looked directly at Daisuke, eyes softer. Even Dark was tempted to believe that he was truly sorry. "I am sorry. It's just that…living in the forest…well…" he trailed off.

"It's all right," Daisuke softly said, smiling at the man. "I understand why you'd think all dragons are evil, but really, they're not. There are good dragons and bad dragons. The bad ones just choose to come out more often and make us look bad, that's all." Then a thought struck him. "You won't tell, will you?" He asked.

"Yes," he said thoughtfully. "I understand now. Please accept my apologies. And no, I won't tell." He smiled at the younger one.

"It's no problem," the redhead smiled again, crimson eyes warm. "It's always good to know that someone's so willing to protect the village." The priest nodded, then turned around.

"I must leave…" he said, "My duties at the chapel…" Daisuke's eyes shone as he remembered what a chapel was (Dark had explained it to him during the tour).

"That's the place of worship, right?" He eagerly asked.

The priest nodded. "That's right. Feel free to come by if you like. My apologies, Mousy-san," he said, turning to Kai. The tall one merely nodded.

"I'll walk him to the door," Daisuke cheerfully announced. Dark hesitated, then nodded after his father shot him a look.

"I'm going to go pack then," Dark said before heading upstairs again. Kai looked for a moment longer at the priest, then at Daisuke.

"Do not be so quick to judge again, Father," he softly said before following his son upstairs.

Daisuke showed the priest to the door, but on the way, the man stumbled over a table. He staggered and Daisuke quickly caught him. Ruby eyes widened in shock, then horror as a searing hot pain flashed through his chest. He fell to the ground, staring up at the priest helplessly. The man was holding a stiletto. "This is what happens to creatures like you," the man hissed before bending over. Daisuke felt the cold blade touch his throat and tried to scream for help, but the blade moved swiftly and he keeled over, blood gushing from his slashed jugular. _Please…Dark…anyone…_were his last thoughts. Then he felt a sense of determination come through him. _I want to tell him this one last thing…_He painfully moved his hand to the pool of blood rapidly forming, dipped his fingers into it and painstakingly began to write.

**Five minutes later: **

Kai headed back down the stairs, wondering what Daisuke was doing. It wasn't that far from the kitchen to the door and he was sure that the redhead would be eager to join Dark again. A metallic smell suddenly assaulted his senses and he reeled backwards. _Please, no, _he thought desperately. _No. _He leapt down the rest of the stairs and darted towards the door. _Don't let it…_He stopped dead at the sight of the pale hand on the floor. "Dear God…" he whispered. "DARK!" He hollered up the stairs. Then he rushed to the body, checking it for a pulse or any other sign of life. There was none.

A howl of despair echoed through the village, causing everyone to look up. It was a howl of despair, rage and loss. Dark Mousy staggered out, his face streaked with tears, his father looking just as distraught. The teenager turned towards the chapel, eyes blazing with fury. _He will pay…_

The villagers watched in horror and shock as two large, black wings blossomed from Dark's back and his hands turned into claws. His pupils changed to become black slits in pools of deep violet and his hair grew long and wild, just like Daisuke's did when he transformed. They stared in growing horror at the dragon, which was now making its way towards the chapel. Normally they would have rushed to the aid of the priest and the others by now, but something held them back. Another man turned to Kai. "What's going on?" Kai could only shake his head and let a few tears escape.

Everyone watched in silence as the dragon tore the tiny wooden construction apart, searching for the priest. Unfortunately, the man had gone to another village 'for a meeting'.

------------------------

_Daisuke's body transformed into its dragon form once more, now that his life force was completely gone. Everyone stared at first in horror, then in sorrow when they realized that the little redhead from the forest was the same creature. It was a pitiful sight-the little red dragon, curled up in a fetal position, chest and throat brutally ripped open. Beside it, in blood red characters read the words, 'Dark-Aishiteru. Arigato.'_

_The little red dragon was buried and at the service, Dark, back in his human form, fell to his knees. He swore that he would avenge Daisuke but the priest had disappeared. To this day, the villagers claim that Dark is still out there, searching, for as everyone knows, dragons are immortal unless they are killed by unnatural means. He is known by some as 'The Sorrowing Dragon'. _

_Whether or not Daisuke's clan knows of his fate remains a mystery. _

* * *

Done! Okay, just for your information: 

I know I did not use the word 'changeling' in the right context. So don't bug me about it, please. According to an online dictionary:

Changeling: A child secretly exchanged for another.  
Legend: Used in England and other parts of the UK/Wales to describe elf-children, who were ugly. The elves themselves swapped the human baby with their own and the human was left to raise the changeling.

For this story, I chose to make dragons have a human form too, as it would, after all, attract less attention in the woods and forests where they hide. I mean, come on-what's more obvious, a large reptilian creature with wings or a human?

Dragons scare their young into good behaviour by using humans because they know that there are both good and bad humans out there-they're not prejudiced-but they do occasionally act like parents do ('If you're not good, I'll give you to the Bogeyman'). That's why Daisuke's so afraid. However, dragons that have been into the outside world _know _that there are different types of people-they just refer to the bad ones to scare their young.

Daisuke's story is this: When young dragons reach the age of eighteen, they are 'sent out' into the world to learn its ways by themselves. They explore for as long as they wish, but the minimum is one year. So, Daisuke has only been gone from his home for six months. Dragons fly all over the place, so each dragon would have a different perception of humans, depending on where they went. This is why Daisuke does not understand villages; Takeshi only talked about grand castles and large cities, and obviously he would ignore the bakeries and things there in favour of the grandeur of the other structures whilst recounting his adventures. The purpose of this trip is mainly to acquire knowledge and instill independence, kind of like a 'round the world' trip (backpacker style) but with more meaning to it.

I know this seems more like a friendship fic, but I guess that the 'Aishiteru' bit pretty much clinched it, so yeah.

Hope you liked the fanfic. Thank you for your feedback and reviews for the last chapter and please review this one, as it would mean so much to me. So review please, and see you next time!


	7. Biology101

**Biology 101: **

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: AU, lame jokes, OOC, fluff…you know the drill.

A/N: I just figured I'd make up for all the angst I've been putting out lately. This one…really is a drabble, and so clichéd it's not funny. Thanks for the support and please enjoy!

* * *

Riku cycled over to the Niwas' house. She was expecting to do a Biology project with Daisuke along with Dark Mousy. The athletic girl smiled slightly at the mere thought of seeing the cheery redhead, as he was one of her closest friends. They had known each other since kindergarten, when she'd shared her bucket and shovel with him in the sandpit. Now they were in groups, working on an ongoing project that Takeda-sensei had set them.

She quickly chained the bike to the garden fence and walked up to the door with brisk, firm steps, folder in hand. A hand reached up to press the bell, but as though someone had been observing her from outside the window, the door swung open to reveal Towa-chan, the Niwas' housekeeper. Her grey eyes sparkled with pleasure at seeing Riku and she beamed. "Good day, Harada-san!" she chirped. "The two boys are upstairs already!" Then she giggled and winked. "Be careful now-I hear you're working on Biology!" Riku flushed and waved her hands, trying to explain that nothing inappropriate was going to happen. The housekeeper merely giggled and waved her off.

Riku mounted the stairs to Daisuke's room. To her surprise, it was firmly closed and she stopped, unsure of what to do. Usually his door was open; she remembered that much from the few times she had actually been here. Besides, it was rude to enter without knocking at first, so she lifted up a hand and gently tapped the door. To her surprise, Daisuke didn't answer it immediately. She had been half-expecting the door to fly open and the poor guy to come tumbling out, face red and stammering out apologies left, right and centre. Frowning lightly, she tried again, but there was still no answer. Riku knew that he wasn't hurt; Towa-chan would have told her otherwise. She knew he couldn't be sleeping; Dark was already here and locked into the room with Daisuke. Then she heard an audible gasp. _Definitely Daisuke's voice, _she thought.

"Ah! Dark, don't—"

"Aw, please Dai-chan…" It was Dark's voice, coaxing. Riku couldn't help but blush at how smooth it was, although she personally thought that the purple-haired teen was a pervert. _But oh, what a handsome one. _

"No Dark! You and Riku can look at it together. Besides, it'll be easier and it's so much trouble to get it out now anyway." Riku blinked and could only assume that they were talking about Daisuke's part of the project.

"Come on," Dark pleaded. Riku could just see the look on his face; eyes wide and begging, voice low and smooth with a hint of desperation. "Please? For me?" She stifled a laugh. She didn't know why she didn't just walk in and give Dark what he wanted, but the answer soon came; she didn't want any awkwardness. The pair was conversing freely and Riku couldn't help but be a bit jealous of Dark. Why couldn't Daisuke be more relaxed around her?

"No!"

Dark continued. "I'll let you see mine if you want-here."

There was a gasp as he took it out. Riku blinked. _What the…? _Her mind was coming up with some decidedly odd theories, but she pushed them away. "Wow Dark!" Daisuke's voice held awe. "It's so big!"

"Isn't it just?" Dark's voice was smug. "I spent so much time working on it!"

"Huh?" The redhead's response was baffled. "How do you _work _on it? It's not one of those things you can just keep watering and it'll grow, you know?"

Dark's voice lowered to a whisper (man that's a thin door) and if Riku hadn't known any better, she'd have described it as being seductive. It couldn't be, though; everyone knew he liked her twin. "Like…this, Dai-chan." There was a pause, during which Riku could only assume was him demonstrating. Then the redhead's voice sounded clearly through the door.

"Ooohh, I see." There was a pause. "It feels really solid and smooth, Dark. But are you sure this will make it grow?" There was doubt in his voice.

Now Riku was wondering. Part of her wanted to smash the door down and demand what was going on, but the darker part of her wanted to see how this scene would play out. _Sheesh, _she thought as she pressed her ear closer to the door and thanked the gods that no one was coming up. _I'm just as bad as Risa. Next thing you know, I'll be squealing, 'Dark-san' at the top of my lungs. _

"Of course, Dai-chan. Doesn't yours?"

"What?" Daisuke spluttered. "How would I know? I've never done it before!"

A smirk. "Here, let me…"

"Wait, don't!" The sound of footsteps.

"Ooh, Dai-chan, what have we here? Let me just…"

"Don't you d-dare!" Daisuke's voice rose into a squeak. "Please, Dark, don't! The way you're holding it…"

Riku could just see the distraught expression upon Daisuke's face and the sly smile upon Dark's visage. "Hmm…" Dark's voice was thoughtful. "It feels quite like mine, wouldn't you say? Quite firm as well…"

Daisuke was really distraught now and it showed in the trembling of his voice. "Dark, let go of it before something bad happens!"

The purple-haired teen's voice was confident and assured. "Don't worry, there's only one thing that happens to these things and it isn't going to be detrimental to our project. You touched mine and nothing bad happened, did it?" A small squeak and an incoherent mumble were all that Riku caught.

The athletic girl finally gave up and knocked loudly on the door, closing to smacking it with her open palm. "Hello, Daisuke," she called, "Are you in there?" A gasp, and then the sound of hurried footsteps. The door swung open and missed her face by just two centimeters. The redhead appeared at the door, face flushed, stammering out apologies for his delay, for almost hitting her in the face, for making her wait…and so on. Riku smiled at him, brown eyes sparkling. "Let's get started, shall we?" She marched into the room, Daisuke meekly following behind.

Dark was lounging in the spare chair in the bedroom, one leg carelessly draped over the arm of the chair. He spared her a lazy glance and that slow, seductive smile curved his lips. "Well, hel-lo there, Harada-san." His hands were resting in his lap, curved gently around the earthenware pot that held a flourishing cactus. "How are you today?"

Riku sniffed. "I'm fine. And Risa's fine too, so you needn't ask."

The purple-haired teen dramatically sighed and shifted the pot to free one of his hands, which fluttered loosely before resting on his heart. "My heart bleeds at your cold dismissal," he joked before sitting up and winking at her. Riku blushed, then cursed herself for her weakness.

"Uh, let's just start then, Riku, did you bring yours?" Riku nodded and picked up the little plastic bag that contained her cactus. Daisuke grabbed his record sheet, a pencil and a ruler. "Now let's see how long it is…"

**Two hours later:**

"Bye guys!" Riku waved cheerily at the pair before unlocking the padlock and beginning the ride home.

"Bye, Harada-san!" Both boys answered. As soon as the girl was out of earshot, Dark leaned down to peck Daisuke's cheek.

"Wasn't that a fun session, Dai-chan?"

Daisuke blushed at the memory of their conversation. "I only hope Harada-san didn't hear anything," he sighed before succumbing to his boyfriend's advances.

* * *

Et voila! Another weird fanfic. Just for the record, cacti /can/ be smooth and firm. Think about aloe vera. Now…what were /you/ thinking, hm? Well, I guess the 'watering' comment kinda gave it all away. Oh well. Please review and thanks for reading! Review! 


	8. Like We Never Loved At All

**Like We Never Loved At All: **

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel. Nor do I own Faith Hill's song, 'Like We Never Loved At All'.

Warnings: Doesn't the title say it all?

A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

_

* * *

You never looked as good  
As you did last night  
Underneath the city lights  
There walking with your friend  
Laughing at the moon._

Dark floated alongside Daisuke and Riku, smiling wistfully at the young couple. _They're a good team, _he mused silently. Although Daisuke had forbidden him to watch, it wasn't as though Dark could help it. After all, he saw everything through Daisuke's eyes and it was difficult to get away from the redhead's thoughts. Besides, he could pretend to feel the wind blowing through his hair, or the warmth of the night surrounding him. His eyes darted around and he reveled in the feeling of being able to see things of his own volition and not through someone else's eyes.

He turned to look at the couple once more and smiled slightly, eyes warm with approval. However, if one were to look more closely, one would have detected sorrow lurking within the depths of those eyes. _Daisuke looks good, _he thought. Indeed, the glow from the street lamps illuminated the teenager's slender frame, bringing out the subtle auburn highlights in his hair and the glow of his unique eyes was only enhanced. _Perfect for a painting, _he thought. He followed them silently, debating upon whether to tease Daisuke. Indeed, the redhead seemed to tense up a little as they neared their destination. Although this might have seemed strange to anyone who didn't know their plans, Dark could see why. Daisuke had managed to save up enough to take Riku to a slightly fancier restaurant than usual and he was worried that something might go wrong. He moved closer to the redhead, fully intending to reassure him.

_Don't worry, Dai, _he whispered. _Everything will be just fine. _Daisuke didn't turn to look at him, but he smiled and some of the tension vanished from his shoulders. Dark felt a stab of pain when Daisuke turned to Riku and continued chatting to her, eyes crinkled with happiness and mouth smiling.

They arrived at the restaurant in due time and the waiter showed them to their seats. Riku and Daisuke were once more engrossed in each other and Dark felt a small stab of jealousy in his body before reminding himself that this way was much, much better for Daisuke. _Doesn't mean I have to like it, _he thought dully. He watched them laugh and smile, watched them brush each other's hands slightly and then blush. He heard them talk. Then dessert came.

"You have some ice cream there," Daisuke pointed at Riku's cheek, eyes warm with amusement. The girl blushed and giggled, dabbing ineffectively at her face with the napkin. Unfortunately, she missed completely and Daisuke leaned over the table, trying his best not to knock anything over. "Here…" He wiped at the spot, making sure that it was all gone. Riku smiled again and Dark, who was sitting behind her in order to see Daisuke better, held up two fingers in a victory sign. His purple eyes glistened slightly, but Daisuke was too focussed on Riku to pay any attention to the thief.

_I swear you looked right through me  
But I'm still living with your goodbye  
and you're just going on with your life._

Dark kept the wide grin on his face for another few seconds and then realized with a shock, _He's not going to acknowledge it. _He knew that Daisuke was too wrapped up in his date, but still…it didn't make the hurt go away. The thief's smile disappeared and his hand fell limply to his side. The couple laughed and talked for a while longer before Daisuke called the waiter for the bill. They paid and Dark smiled at the way the two treated each other. Riku hugged Daisuke lightly and the redhead flushed before gently taking her hand and leading her out of the restaurant. Dark knew where they were going; Daisuke had told him all about it a while ago, when he'd first come up with the idea. They were going to the dock, where they could sit and talk and look at the stars. _Perfectly romantic, and exactly what Riku likes, _Dark thought sadly. _But she's so good for you, isn't she Dai? She's got a body, she's got a great personality and she's a _girl_. Now you won't have to worry about the ending of the bloodline. _

He moved swiftly ahead, leaning casually on a railing and watching them. As they passed, Dark placed a gentle, ghostly hand on Daisuke's shoulder in a show of support. _He's so resilient, _he thought sadly.

_How can you just walk on by  
Without one tear in your eye?  
Don't you have the slightest feelings left for me?  
Maybe that's just your way  
Of dealing with the pain  
Forgetting everything  
Between our rise and fall  
Like we never loved at all. _

Dark reflected upon his time with Daisuke after their…separation, so to speak. Daisuke had gone back to treating him as an older brother and this hurt him more than anything, as he was still so _nice _to him. Dark missed the small signs of affection the other would show around him and every time Daisuke offered to get him simple things such as an ice cream, or asked him for help with History, it was all Dark could do not to cry. The redhead had not behaved differently towards him and the thief was almost scared of this. It was something he didn't understand.

_You, I hear you're doing fine.  
Seems like you're doing well  
as far as I can tell.  
Time is leaving us behind,  
(time – leaving us behind)  
another week has passed  
and still I haven't laughed yet.  
So tell me, what your secret is  
(I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know)  
to letting go, letting go like you did,  
like you did._

He looked at his hands as he sat perched on the windowsill. A week had gone by, and Daisuke was happier than ever. Every time he came back from school, Dark could feel him glowing with happiness as he talked about Riku. "…don't you think so, Dark?"

"Huh?" His head jerked up. "Sorry?"

Daisuke rolled his eyes and then laughed. "I was just asking if it would be a good idea to dress up as a mage for the end-of-year prom," he laughed. "Riku said it would be fun to dress up as mages, and it fits, seeing as the theme this year is 'Magic'." Dark cocked his head to one side as though considering the matter, then shrugged carelessly.

"Sure," he said. "Whatever. Sounds good to me." Daisuke looked worried.

"Dark?" he inquired. "Are you all right?"

The thief looked up. "Yeah, sure, I'm just peachy," he said. Daisuke didn't looked reassured, but he just grabbed his books and began to work. _He hasn't laughed for ages, _Daisuke thought. _I…just thought it would be better for him if we…stopped dating. _

Dark inwardly sighed and looked at Daisuke, eyes prickling slightly as he reminded himself that Riku was now his special one. _I was stupid to think things could ever work out for me just once, _he thought. A single, sparkling crystal hit the windowsill, unseen by the other. _Why, _he thought, _why is he still being so nice? _Daisuke had done his best to let him down gently, but the pain was still there. It hurt, especially when Daisuke acted as though nothing had happened between the two of them.

_Did you forget the magic?  
Did you forget the passion?  
Oh, and did you ever miss me  
and long to kiss me?  
Oh baby baby  
_

_Maybe it's just your way  
Of dealing with the pain  
Forgetting everything  
Between our rise and fall  
Like we never loved at all. _

He soon vanished, leaving behind only memories to mark his presence.

* * *

Reviews please, and thanks for reading! 


	9. Watercolours

**Watercolours:**

Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel.

A Note on the Text: Each stanza of the poem was made up according to the events preceding/proceeding each section, so the whole things looks a little disjointed. I also meant the whole thing to be abstract but I guess the intentions are pretty clear towards the end, ne? I also tried to keep a certain rhythm within the poem, so hopefully it works. Thanks.

A/N: Just a little piece I thought of. After all, what DD piece would be complete without some reference to Daisuke's artistic ability (provided that the piece is 'in series' of course)? So, I give you….Watercolours.

**

* * *

A cup of water, a box of tin.  
The lid flipped open  
Revealing colours within…**

Daisuke smiled contentedly as his brush swept over the sheet of paper in front of him. The pale yet vibrant colours spread over the paper, eating up the whiteness and taking away the blank, impersonal feel.

_Hey, painting again? _Dark asked.

-Hai.-

_Even after the Toki no Byoushin (sp.?) affair? _

-It's not always going to happen,- Daisuke pointed out calmly. –That was probably just a one-off, especially as I was playing Freedert.-

_Yeah, _Dark replied. Then he immersed himself in his thoughts once more, watching Daisuke's progress with one eye. He noticed that Daisuke had changed colours at some point and now grey streaks were making their way across the sheet of paper.

**Across the paper, the brush doth dance  
As thy eyes at my hand glance  
**

Dark watched the brush glide across the paper, eyes slowly traveling upwards until they met the long, delicate fingers of the artist. He focused on the paleness of the hand and stared enviously at the tool. _Long, delicate fingers, more accustomed to artwork than thieving. _He focused on the picture once more and blinked. It was of a storm at sea, and Daisuke was just painting the waves in. Funnily enough, although oils would have done more justice to the waves and added some texture to the picture, this watered-down version seemed to hold a life of its own. There was rough anger in the waves, but they were somewhat softened thanks to the pale watercolours.

Daisuke was wholly consumed in the joy of painting, the feeling only enhanced by Dark's presence. The creation of any sort of artwork was a highly personal thing and the fact that he was sharing it with Dark even before it was finished made him smile. He looked at the waves and smiled, thinking of his 'curse'. Dark was like the waves in a way, stormy on the outside by gentle on the inside. Cocking his head to one side, Daisuke wondered what Dark was thinking. He knew that the thief was watching; his natural curiosity had dropped them both into hot water more than once. He was not disappointed.

_Dai-chan, you got rejected? _Dark's voice held surprise in it.

-What makes you think that?-

_Well, the sky looks grey and clouded over, with very little sunlight. The waves are stormy, so it could say that you've met something and you're angered or sad about it. Are you sad, Dai-chan? _Daisuke blinked.

-It's just a painting, Dark. Honestly…-

_Well, most paintings have an underlying meaning to them. Even if the artist doesn't mean it, it almost always manifests itself. That's why so much artwork is unknowingly cursed, like that Unicorn painting. _Daisuke nodded, then blushed.

-If there is truly a meaning behind this, I don't think Dark will want to know,- he thought.

_Say what, Dai-chan? I always want to know! _

-He heard me!-

_No duh. Spill, _the thief commanded. Daisuke shook his head and the brush trembled slightly, making a streak of green-grey appear in the sky.

-Oh no!- Dismayed by this, Daisuke hastily looked over at the box of paints once more.

**Suddenly the brush trips  
And the paint slips.  
What dismay, what shock  
The sea was green, but now it's grey  
Mayhap I'll change it to a stormy day?  
**

_It's okay…_Dark watched the brush enviously once more as Daisuke ran his thumb over it, adjusting his grip.

-Dark?-

_What? _Dark sighed as Daisuke's face fell, indicating that he had been hurt. _Sorry Dai-chan, _he apologized, _I didn't mean to be so harsh. You startled me. _Daisuke smiled playfully, restored to his normal good humour.

-I startled you? I thought you were the one who did the sneaking, not me!-

_Hmph. I had other things on my mind. _

Daisuke's ears pricked up and not for the first time, he wished he could grab Dark physically. –Oh, what things?-

_None of your business. _Dark smirked at the pout that appeared on Daisuke's face. _He looks cute like that. _

The redhead pouted even harder. "Pwease?" he begged, widening his already large eyes and putting on a baby voice. "Pwetty pwease?"

_Well…_Dark wavered and then sighed at himself. _I'm getting soft. I'm wavering at Daisuke's puppy eyes. This is not good. _Sensing victory on the horizon, Daisuke persisted and the thief glared back, equally determined to get his host off his case.

**The look on your face  
The sound of your voice  
Determined my choice**

**Won't you…ride this storm out with me?  
**

In a last-ditch attempt to keep Daisuke away from his secret, the thief squawked, _Look out Daisuke!_ The redhead whipped around, expecting to see the cup of water spilled all over his painting. Instead, all was just as he had left it and he could hear his other half's laughter echoing inside his head.

-No fair!-

_Oh, but it was, _laughed Dark. _It was. Now be a good boy and don't pry into my things, or else you'll have something worse happen! _Daisuke's eyes narrowed as he thought, and then the idea came. Bending his head slightly, Daisuke asked huskily, "What if I want to?"

Dark's eyes widened. _Holy…_He felt a dull flush makes its way up his face and he was grateful that Daisuke couldn't see him. _I-I guess you'll just have to wait and see, _he stammered out with none of his usual smoothness.

-Really?- Daisuke purred. At first, he'd felt a twinge of embarrassment but it was getting easier and easier to play this role. –Why, Dark…you should know that I'm not exactly patient…-

_Could have fooled me, _the thief snorted, trying to regain control of the situation.

Not one to relinquish an advantage, Daisuke pressed on. –Hm…so tell me, Dark…what _would _you do?-

Hidden away in the depths of Daisuke's mind, Dark wondered what was going on. Since when had Daisuke become this…knowledgeable? Since when had he learned to talk like _that_? Dark wasn't sure whether to groan or to be scandalised. _Well, _he thought, _two can play at that game. And he's gone into my territory. Dai-chan, _he purred, now addressing the boy, _I don't think you'd want to know. _A squawk came from the redhead and Dark smiled triumphantly. _Perhaps I'd start with…this. _

Just then, a knock on the door was heard. Daisuke hastily jumped up from the chair and opened it. To his surprise, Satoshi stood there, calm as ever. Behind him was Emiko, her brows drawn down in disapproval. The detective raised an eyebrow at Daisuke's ruffled appearance, then turned around and politely thanked the matriarch.

_Ooh, what's this now? _Dark asked as Daisuke let Satoshi into the room.

-Shut it.- Dark fell silent.

"You do watercolours too?" Satoshi's quiet voice broke the silence and Daisuke beamed at him. Dark scowled.

"Yup!" The Hikari walked over and looked at the painting, eyebrows rising as he noted that the subject of choice was much darker than anything he would have expected from the cheery redhead.

"Storm?" Daisuke fiddled slightly.

"Um…yeah." He looked up and waved his hands defensively. "What? I felt like it!" Satoshi didn't say anything, just kept looking. Then he looked up at Daisuke, a teasing smirk playing about his lips.

"The storm of the heart, huh?" He asked softly. His eyes, which had taken upon a dreamy cast, then sharpened and focused and Daisuke could only blink as the detective shoved a package at him. "Here," he said shortly. "Something for you." Then he left as abruptly as he'd shown up. Daisuke blinked at the neatly wrapped parcel and Dark snickered. _Open it, Dai-chan, open it! _

-No.-

_It could be a kinky sex gift! _

-The only person I'd use it on would be you…- Daisuke thought. Dark choked.

_What! _

-Huh?-

_I didn't know you liked me that way, _Dark stated, nudging Daisuke mentally. _But I'm warning you; I'm seme. _

There was a pause. Then to Dark's shock (and slight arousal) Daisuke firmly stated, -Nuh-uh.- His voice dropped to a husky growl and the thief groaned. –Don't you wish…- Daisuke picked up the paintbrush and gently moved his hands along the length of it. –Don't you wish that you…- Stroke. –were physical?- Dark groaned. _Dai-chan, _he thought, keeping this thought to himself, _you have _no _idea…_

Daisuke continued with his movements, the watercolour forgotten now that he was sure of Dark's feelings towards him. –Come on…- he purred seductively, -you know you want to. Can't you imagine my hands, running all over you, touching you, caressing you.- The thief moaned softly and concentrated, planning on surprising his little Tamer.

The redhead was about to continue when a very hot-under-the-collar Dark suddenly materialized out of nowhere and landed on his bed. The thief rolled over and stalked towards Daisuke, eyes glowing with a light never before seen. "Very nice, Dai-chan,- he purred softly. "It's my turn to play, now." He plucked the brush out of Daisuke's hand and crushed the other's lips in a bruising kiss.

**Your hand moves  
And rests o'er mine  
I guess this means…  
You'll be riding with me tonight? **

Dark smirked and lazily played with strands of soft red hair, looking down at his Tamer. He pressed another gentler, softer kiss to Daisuke's lips and then moved a hand to rest on the other's chest, feeling his heartbeat. _Just like those watercolours, _the thief thought, _gentle and unassuming, but they're capable of the most amazing things. _

* * *

Heh. That's the end. I just thought it would be fun to see where my imagination took me and I came up with an oddly weird poem. I know the whole thing's kinda abrupt, but please bear in mind that Dark and Dai's teasing already generated a lot of sexual tension, yes? This was written the night before the Eng. Lit. exam, so I guess I was trying to go for a deeper meaning but I guess things didn't quite turn out that way. In return for all my hard work, won't you please give me a review or three? Please? Aw, come on, poetry isn't easy to write. Please? Review please (begs shamelessly) and thanks for reading and supporting this collection!

For those who want the whole poem (please don't steal, there are plenty of better poems out there):

**Watercolours **by trichloroethane (yay!)

**A cup of water, a box of tin.  
The lid flipped open  
Revealing colours within…**

**Across the paper, the brush doth dance  
As thy eyes at my hand glance**

**Suddenly the brush trips  
And the paint slips.  
What dismay, what shock  
The sea was green, but now it's grey  
Mayhap I'll change it to a stormy day?**

**The look on your face  
The sound of your voice  
Determined my choice**

**Won't you…ride this storm out with me?  
**

**Your hand moves  
And rests o'er mine  
I guess this means…  
You'll be riding with me tonight? **

Oh, and if you have any good ideas, you can send them along to me and I'll see what I can do with them. Or maybe not. Well, whatever. Thanks for reading and review please!


	10. Walk The Line

**Walk the Line: **

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: Fluff, shounen-ai, blah blah blah…oh, and AU.

A/N: Righty-ho, this is one area which I have never before explored, so please forgive me if it's a little…rough around the edges. Thank you for your lovely reviews all throughout this fic! Oh, before I forget; you're welcome to suggest ideas if you want. I can't guarantee that I'll write them all, but…well, you know, if there's a special thing that you'd love to see but don't want to write, just post it up and…yeah. ;) Enjoy!

* * *

Daisuke let out a frustrated howl as he threw his bag onto the floor. "He's so…ugh!" With cocked his head to one side, eyes blinking in innocent confusion. The object of his frustration was Dark Mousy, class president and top student. Although he was incredibly strong in the academic department, he was also amazingly arrogant. Much to Daisuke's dismay, he had been paired up with the other for a large project, one that consisted of 50 of their whole term grade. To the redhead's further irritation, Dark didn't seem to care; he'd spent the whole lesson aggravating his partner and fooling around on the laptop. It had taken all of Daisuke's willpower not to turn red in the face and faint when he accidentally opened one of Dark's 'Recommended Websites' and found that it contained…well, let's just say that it contained non-scholarly material.

"What am I going to do?" He sighed at the rabbit. "I'll probably end up doing all the work as usual." Then the phone rang, but Daisuke didn't bother to answer it. It was probably just a salesman advertising vacuum cleaners, anyway. To his surprise, the call was for him. "Hello?"

"Niwa." Daisuke blinked. _How did he get my phone number? _"The project."

"Um…yes?" Daisuke answered, unsure of what else to say. "What about it?"

"I was thinking…maybe we could work on it tomorrow afternoon after school? The classrooms will still be open, so we'll be able to get all the materials that we need there." Daisuke hesitated, then decided to speak.

"Well…we could actually work at my place instead. I have a lot of arts and crafts stuff here, so if you want…" He trailed off, unsure of how to finish. There was a pause from the other end of the line and then Dark made an indistinct noise in his throat.

"Sure."

Daisuke flushed. "Uh, okay," he said, tugging at his collar. Why was it so hot?

"Cool. See you tomorrow then, Dai-chan." The redhead blushed at the familiar nickname. "Oh, and one more thing," the purple-haired teen added before hanging up.

"What?"

"That site?" Daisuke blushed at the memory. "I put it there as a joke. No harm intended." The other was too stunned to react. When he'd finally come to his senses, the first thing he did was groan and cover his face with embarrassment. _That…that idiot! _

**Dark: **

At first, he'd been disappointed with his partner, to say the very least. Daisuke Niwa was hardly a promising choice; he was the sort of person who would walk into the same door five times and still not understand why he couldn't get into the room. The teen sighed and ran fingers through his hair. _Well, _he thought, _better get it done. _He picked up the phone and called the Niwas, intending to talk to his partner. _God knows I'll probably be doing all the work. _To his surprise, Niwa wasn't as passive as he'd thought he'd be. He'd even suggested that they work at _his _house, which was a first for Dark.

Looking around his empty house now, he guessed that it would be okay for him to go to Niwa's. It wasn't as though there was anything more here and the guy had sounded so…eager. Swinging his legs off the couch, he sauntered over to the computer and sat down, intending to finish the majority of the research tonight. Then the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Mousy?"

"Which one?"

"Dark Mousy." Dark nearly fell out of the chair with laughter. _How naïve can you get? _He thought.

"That's me."

"Oh. ARGH!" Dark blinked at this sudden noise, which was followed by a crash. Over the phone, he could hear Daisuke muttering to himself. Then, "Sorry." Dark decided not to ask.

"Well, what?"

Daisuke's voice softened slightly and the other teen felt bad for just a split second. "Um…well…what part of the research do you, uh, want me to do?" Dark blinked. _Well, that's new. _Most of his old partners had immediately slacked off, making him do all the work, assuming that since he was the class president, he would be able to pull the perfect project out of thin air without any effort. _My ass, _he thought. Well, perhaps this project wouldn't require him to pull an all-nighter this time. "How about you see what you can find and we'll compare research at school?"

"Okay!" The cheery tone was back in Daisuke's voice and Dark was reminded of a child, resilient and always bouncy. Satisfied with his answer, Dark hung up and leaned back into his chair, grabbed his copy of Dickens' 'David Copperfield' and proceeded to read the assigned chapters.

**Next morning: **

Daisuke winced and shifted his schoolbag uncomfortably, unused to the extra weight on his shoulders. He'd crammed all the books he could find on the Russian Revolution into his bag, and now he was really feeling the weight. _Why did I choose so many heavy tomes? _He wondered ruefully. Luckily for him, the train was only a few minutes' walk away from the school, so he didn't have to worry about a sore back.

He entered the classroom and drew back, startled as he met a pair of cool blue eyes. Satoshi Hiwatari backed off, only making an indistinct noise in his throat as a greeting to the other. "Morning, Hiwatari-san!" Daisuke said cheerfully. He made his way over to his desk and promptly dropped his heavy backpack, relieved to get rid of the weight on his shoulders. He looked around the classroom and then groaned when he saw that Dark's seat was still empty. A glance at the clock told him that the purple-haired teen wouldn't be arriving any time soon. Luckily, he could leave his books in his desk for a while-well, until they were due back at the library, anyway. Sighing to himself, Daisuke selected a book and flipped through it, underlining lines of text with a pencil and tagging appropriate pages.

Dark sauntered into the room exactly two minutes before the bell. To his surprise, Daisuke was already there, a large stack of books sitting on his desk. The guy was studiously poring through them, stopping to make a note here or there or stick a tag on the page. Depositing his book bag on his desk, he walked over to his partner. "Niwa," he said, by way of greeting. Daisuke looked up and smiled at him politely.

"Morning, Mousy." Then he turned back to the task at hand. Dark was surprised, to say the least. Obviously his partner was a lot harder-working than most of the others were.

"Aw." He leaned on the desk, and tipped the book downwards. He gazed into the wide red eyes of his partner and smiled sweetly, too sweetly for the other's comfort. "Such a cold greeting."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "So? It's not like you could care less."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong," the other answered. "I like to get along with my partners," he dryly said. Crimson eyes regarded him suspiciously before lowering to the book.

"We're getting along," Daisuke answered serenely.

"No we're not."

Daisuke sighed and looked up again. "What do you want then, Dark?"

Dark smirked widely and the rest of the class looked at him curiously, wondering. Then the bell rang and Dark hastily straightened up before hurrying back to his desk, flashing the teacher a cheeky grin as she entered the room.

It was third period and Daisuke already felt tired. Physics had been a bore and to tell the truth, he would have preferred to continue work on his project. It was due in for next Monday, and all he had so far was what he had come up with. He could only hope that Dark, arrogant idiot that he may be, had also done his part of the work.

Lunchtime came and Daisuke was sitting with Takeshi and Masahiro as usual. The reporter was engrossed in telling them about the latest developments in police's attempt to find the 'Phoenix Reborn'. Daisuke wasn't particularly interested, and pretended to listen, hemming and hawing every now and again to reassure his dark-haired friend. "Daisuke!" The redhead didn't answer. "Daisuke!" Takeshi waved a hand in front of the other's face, but there was still no response. Finally, he sighed. "Daisuke!" He said loudly, "DARK'S GOING TO DO A TABLE DANCE IN FRONT OF YOU!" The redhead's head jerked up and he turned crimson as the other two laughed.

As the cherry hue faded from his cheeks, Dark swept by, talking animatedly to Krad. Daisuke shrank into his seat, not wishing to see the other more than was strictly necessary. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side and the other boy leaned over, poking him in the ribs. "What ho, Niwa." Daisuke just glared up at him in annoyance and Dark rolled his eyes. _What a drama queen. _"Don't forget our little arrangement," he told the other snobbishly before leaving.

After school, Daisuke waited outside the lockers nervously, hoping that Dark would come by himself. To his dismay, Krad showed up first. The other looked at him shortly, golden eyes large and unblinking like a cat's. Feeling snappish, Daisuke turned some of his frustration-at what, he didn't know-on the other. "What are you staring at?"

Krad nonchalantly leaned against the lockers, eyes cool as ever. "I was just going to tell you Dark's going to be out in a few," he dryly said. "No need to be hostile." Daisuke just glared all the harder at this, even though a part of him wanted to know why he was so wound up over working with Dark Mousy. Then the object of his thoughts came out of the classroom.

"Yo, Krad. 'Sup?" Daisuke blinked as Mousy struck up a conversation with Hikari and resisted the urge to walk over and smack the class president soundly. However, he did not give in to this impulse and waited. Five minutes passed by, and still Dark showed no signs of stopping the conversation any time soon. Finally Daisuke walked up to him and told him in no uncertain terms that they were going. Much to his annoyance, Dark looked _down _at him and squinted as though he were looking at a beetle. Then the purple-haired boy straightened up and grinned at Daisuke. "Hey Niwa. Didn't see you down there." The redhead glared up at him, longing for a witty comeback whilst Dark laughed as though he had made the wittiest joke conceivable to man.

Two hours later and neither had backed down yet. "Niwa," Dark asked. "Pass me the scissors?" He didn't bother adding a please, as it wouldn't make a whit of difference to the other whether he did or not. Daisuke scrabbled through the many layers of multi-coloured paper, searching for the required tool and upon finding it, hurled it rather savagely at his partner. Dark, expecting the move, shifted to the side and the metal blades fell to the floor with a dull thump. He picked them up and continued cutting, ignoring the other. Unfortunately, people like Dark Mousy were not made for the silent treatment, hence the words five minutes later. "Which side of the bed did _you _get out of this morning, sunshine?"

Daisuke looked at him coldly. "The usual side," he replied. "There only _is _one side of the bed to get out from, you know."

"Sorry, princess." The pair worked in silence until Dark looked over at what Daisuke was doing…and his jaw promptly dropped. "What the hell…! Niwa, what on earth do you think you're doing!" Daisuke looked up at him calmly.

"I'm making my poster, that's what." Dark stared at him as though he had gone mad.

"Are you insane?" He demanded. "I thought we worked out that you would do the decoration for the poster and the diagrams, and I would do the writing?"

"Yeah, well, maybe I just didn't _think _your stuff made sense!"

"Why the hell didn't you ask then?"

"Because you wouldn't have helped anyway!" Daisuke shot back irritably.

"Like you're contributing much, princess!"

"I'm finished with everything, Mousy! Look!" Daisuke thrust a handful of diagrams and the large A3 poster board at the other. Dark rolled his eyes.

"Tell me then!"

Daisuke snorted scornfully, eyes flashing. "Oh, and I'm supposed to report to you now?" Dark scowled, resisting the urge to smack the other or beat him up beyond all recognition.

"No, but it'd be nice if you helped me out here! The faster we get this done, the less we'll have to see each other!"

The pair glared and huffed at each other for a while before turning away and resuming their tasks, Daisuke grabbing some of Dark's stencils and cutting the shapes out deftly. Unfortunately for the pair, it was soon seven and Dark had to leave the work unfinished. The purple-haired teen got up and glared down at Daisuke contemptuously. "Thanks for letting me come over, princess," he sarcastically said. "So nice to know that I'm always welcome here."

Daisuke glared. "Thanks for everything, rat," he coolly replied. "It was delightful having you over…playboy."

"What, jealous are we?" Without waiting for an answer, he walked out the door. From that day on, war was officially declared between Daisuke Niwa and Dark Mousy.

**Tuesday:**

Daisuke walked into the classroom, expecting to see the usual scene of people either talking or sleeping on their desks, trying to get another twenty minutes' sleep. To his surprise, as soon as he opened the door, black greeted his eyes. Sighing, Daisuke looked up and scowled at Dark, who was blocking his way into the room.

"What do you want, Mousy?" He asked.

Dark smirked. "Feisty this morning, aren't we?"

Daisuke frowned lightly; something wasn't right. Then Dark's smirk grew even wider and Daisuke was drenched in water. The purple-haired teen smiled cheerily, tossing the bucket somewhere behind him and leaning forward. "Good morning to you too, Niwa," he cheerily said. Daisuke stood in the doorway, stunned. The tips of his normally spiky red hair drooped sadly, like the leaves of a wilted plant. In contrast, his eyes were burning. Not only with irritation and the now roaring flames of a gorgeous morning temper, but also with the fact that Dark had effectively ruined _his only clean white uniform shirt_. Luckily for Dark, the teacher arrived and Daisuke was forced to 'dry himself off' in the bathroom.

The rest of the day continued in a humdrum fashion and by last bell, Daisuke was back to his normal, smiling, _dry _self. Just as he'd placed all his books back in his locker, a hand fell on his shoulder and he turned around. "Niwa," Satoshi's voice said. Daisuke turned around and smiled at the other boy. Before the other could say anything more, Krad showed up.

"Oh hello there," he said, golden eyes mischievous. "How are you today, Sato?" Satoshi rolled his eyes and ignored the blond, focusing his gaze on Daisuke's. He opened his mouth to speak again, but right at that point Krad interrupted once more. "Is this a cut?" Satoshi sighed and glared at Krad, who promptly pretended to swoon.

"Lay off, Krad," he growled before turning to Daisuke. "About Dark…"

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "I don't want to see the idiot until this afternoon." Krad's laughter stopped and he looked sharply at the redhead. Satoshi, on the other hand, chuckled lightly. Of course, Daisuke was far from laughing when Dark raised an eyebrow at him, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"So glad to see I'm loved," the other drawled. "But then again, I guess it's not a great loss coming from you, midget." Krad snorted at the insult and Dark smacked him before turning once more to Daisuke. "Finished the work?" He asked. Daisuke nodded, unwilling to say any more lest he become involved in a fight. "Wow," Dark sarcastically remarked. "I hope you did the right thing. When did Lenin take over Russia, and what was the name of the government he overthrew?"

Daisuke frowned indignantly as the other two watched. "17-18 October 1917, and he overthrew the Provisional Government, which was headed by Alexander Kerensky." He shot a challenging glare at Dark, who leaned against the lockers looking bored. "And you don't have to quiz me."

The other teen rolled his eyes. "Please. Who was the moron who f---ed up the project yesterday?" Satoshi winced at the language and shot a dirty look in Dark's direction, whilst Krad continued to observe the interaction between the two.

"There's no need to say that," Daisuke defended himself irritably. "You just didn't explain things properly!"

Dark cast him a pitying look. "For someone who's supposed to be good at History, you're _terrible _at listening."

"For someone's who's top of the class, you're _awfully _stupid," Daisuke retorted hotly. "You can't even explain things properly!"

"Yes I can; you just can't listen and understand!"

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black!"

"I'm nothing like you, Mousy!"

"Whatever, Niwa! At least I get my grades through hard work and not giving teachers blowjobs after school!" Daisuke snarled in anger, furious that Dark would even dare to insinuate that he was guilty of something like _that_.

"Well, I'm not the one famous for bedding five women in one night!" There was a shocked silence afterwards and even Daisuke himself was appalled by what he had just said. Dark was now enraged and his eyes were snapping with dark fire.

"Say that again," he hissed angrily, taking a step forwards and fully intending to beat the living daylights out of his partner. At this point, Krad and Satoshi intervened, the blond holding a fistful of Dark's shirt in his hand and the blue-haired teen holding Daisuke's arm.

"Stop it, both of you," Satoshi ordered. "Let's get out of this building before either of you do anything stupid in the school and we all get detention for it." The two enemies reluctantly complied.

Outside the school grounds, Satoshi stared challengingly at both Dark and Daisuke. "If the pair of you promise not to attack each other, we'll let go of you." The look on Krad's face was one of distaste at the patronizing tone Satoshi took, but he nodded in agreement anyway. "Do you?"

Dark snorted and Daisuke sighed irritably. "Fine," they said in unison. Satoshi immediately released his grip, nodding at Krad to do the same thing. Both boys were now free, but neither made a move. Finally, Daisuke turned around. "I'm going home," he announced. "I need to work on that project." Dark stood still for a moment, dislike warring with the need to finish the blasted assignment.

"I'm coming," he grudgingly said. "But it sure isn't for the joy of your company." Daisuke snorted. Watching the pair leave (and smirking at the miles of open country between them), Krad remarked on how 'Pride and Prejudice' the entire relationship seemed to be. Satoshi rolled his eyes at his stepbrother, but secretly he agreed.

**Three hours later:**

Dark and Daisuke were close to tearing each other's throats out. Neither boy was willing to admit that the other had done a better job than expected, so they were now nitpicking. "The colour scheme sucks," Dark flatly said. "Just why on earth would you even _consider _using yellow when this poster is supposed to be Communist themed?"

Daisuke sighed. "Because of the flag, maybe?" He sarcastically replied. Dark just rolled his eyes.

"It's _white, _dolt," he hissed. "It's red on _white_."

Daisuke gave him a scornful look. "Your poster's got the same colour scheme," he pointed out. "I don't see you rushing to make it look Communist." Dark scowled even harder, but it was soon replaced with a fake smile when the door opened and Kosuke looked into the room.

"Hullo boys. What are you two up to, then?" To both teens' dismay, he walked over to look at the project.

"Niwa-san," Dark smiled politely up at Kosuke. "We were just discussing the colour scheme for the poster."

Kosuke smiled slightly. "Ah, I see." He looked over at his son, who was smiling as well. "Is this…" he squinted at the poster, "about the Russian Revolution?" Both boys nodded and Kosuke laughed. "All right then," he said, "I just came in to check on you guys, and I'm going to go out for a while. I'll be back soon. Dai, if your friend or you get hungry, there are some snacks in the kitchen. Keys are in the top drawer near the door-you know the one-and if you guys need help or anything, call me or Emiko. Bye then!" With those cheery words, he walked out again and the pair immediately reverted to their previous facial expressions. They sat still, waiting for the door to close. As soon as the 'click' of the lock reached their ears, both cast off all former inhibitions and launched themselves at each other. This time, there would be no Satoshi or Krad to interfere.

"F--- you!" Dark practically howled as he landed a fist on Daisuke's jaw. The redhead gasped but planted his leg firmly in the other's gut, lashing out wildly.

"You're the one who started this!" Daisuke panted as he desperately tried to avoid the flailing fists. Crimson eyes flared up as Dark managed to kick him in the chest, sending him a good foot away from the other. He didn't have time to recover as Dark launched himself again, effectively body-slamming him. The project lay on the bed innocently, unaware of the hell it had caused for its two makers. Then something startling happened.

Dark pinned Daisuke to the ground, one hand restraining the redhead's wrist and his legs entwined with the other's to lock them. Snarling angrily, Dark glared into those fierce red eyes and without thinking roughly pressed his mouth to the other's. Ruby widened for a moment before Daisuke kissed back, determined not to let Dark win this contest. It wasn't a lover's kiss; it was hot, hard and painful. The purple-haired boy nipped roughly at his partner's lips, thrusting his tongue in forcefully and at the same time tangling his free hand in those red locks. Gasping, the pair broke away for breath before Daisuke thrust his face upwards and forced Dark into another kiss.

Emiko Niwa entered the house, eyebrows rising when she realized there was absolutely no noise coming from Daisuke's bedroom. Normally she wouldn't have cared, but today Daisuke had one of his friends over, so it was odd that she didn't hear them talking. After all, Dark had come over yesterday, too, and there had been a _lot _of noise. Placing the groceries on the kitchen counter, she prepared a tray of cookies and drinks to take up to the two boys. As she reached the door…

"HHHMMPPH!" Emiko blinked. _What on earth…? _"Hmpf…ah…OH!" The lady blinked at the door and then decided to leave the foodstuffs outside, seeing as they were rough-housing. She didn't want orange juice spilled all over the carpet or cookie crumbs trampled into the carpet, thank you very much. With that thought, she left, missing the cry, "Da-AARK!"

**Inside:**

Daisuke flopped down, eyes now glazed over. "Mm…" he purred as Dark ran fingers through his hair. "How'd that happen?" he asked the one behind him.

Dark propped himself up on one hand, looking down at the smaller teen. "Dunno…just felt like it, I guess."

"Mmm…" Daisuke looked over sharply at the purple-haired class president. "So what's this make us?"

Dark smirked, eyes warmer now. "C'mere," he drawled, grabbing the other and pulling him in for a kiss. Outside, the cookies and juice sat forlornly, waiting for someone to notice them.

**Three weeks later:**

Dark entered the classroom holding a large plastic bag. He wasn't the only one, either; almost everyone else carried large containers of some sort, all used for storing their projects. History soon rolled around once more and the teacher stood in front of the class, pushing her coke-bottle glasses further up the bridge of her nose. She smiled awkwardly. "So…how did your projects go, guys?" She asked the entire class. Many grumbled, but Dark and Daisuke shared a grin, the redhead flushing slightly at the memory. "Mousy-san, is there something funny?" Dark grinned and tilted his chair backwards, leaning casually on the desk behind him for support.

"Oh, yes, Schieska-sensei," he drawled, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Very much so…the project was most amusing," he continued, the smirk becoming a smile larger than the Cheshire Cat's. "That indeed it was." Two rows away, Daisuke squeaked in embarrassment and buried his head in his arms. Unsure of what to make of the response, the teacher opted to nod.

* * *

Done! What do you think-love it? Hate it? Too contrived? Send all your comments to me please, and constructive criticism will be welcomed. Just no flames and then at the bottom 'This is not a flame' please, as those tend to annoy me more than anything else. Please review, and thank you for reading this fic. I hope you enjoyed reading it and thanks for supporting me!  
Oh, and as for the title, it refers to the line between love and hate. 


	11. Seadancer, Earthwalker

**Seadancer, Earthwalker:**

Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel. Anyone who sues will find themselves sadly disappointed.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, fluff, humour.

A/N: Just to clear up any confusion you may have after reading 'Walk the Line', it's all _impulse _and the fine line between love and hate. The thing is, Dark is bugging Daisuke because he wants his attention. Since he is the most popular in school, he is used to having his way and thus doesn't know how to get someone who doesn't already admire him. Yeah. Enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

It was a journalist's dream come true-and a police officer's worst nightmare. Spotlights were trained on every available inch of the massive building otherwise known as the Celestial Museum of Arts and Sciences. A pretentious name by anyone's standards, as Dark observed on his trip there. Daisuke, on the other hand, could see exactly why the place was so named; apart from its collection of beautiful artwork, it had one of the best observatories in the world. Famous astronomers regularly came here just to look at the stars.

That wasn't what they were here for, though. Oh, no. They were here for a painting by a Western artist this time, one who had no connection whatsoever to the Hikari. The artwork in question was of the sea, apparently. Or mermaids. Or something of the sort. Daisuke didn't quite remember. All he knew was that it was a painting, it was of marine life forms and it was valuable. _Hey, Dai, _Dark said. _See that? _Daisuke looked and nodded. It was a tiny niche, hidden from the searing brightness of the spotlights. Daisuke could feel his other half's lips curving upwards into the familiar, cocky smirk.

-No way, Dark,- he thought back. –It's too obvious.-

_Indeed. But you know the Commander; he's always two steps ahead. _

-So?- Daisuke didn't agree. After all, Satoshi had been combating them long enough to know the pattern of Dark's thefts, even if he didn't necessarily succeed. –You're too cocky, Dark. One day we'll be caught, and then what?-

_And then I transform into you and distract our dear friend,_ Dark cheerily replied. _Hush now, Dai-chan. I got work to do. _He landed in the niche and leaned forward, swaying a little to keep his balance as he worked on the window. Taking a phial out of somewhere, the Phantom Thief dribbled a little of its contents onto the latch. A hiss, a sizzle and the glass pane swung open.

He landed on the floor, straightening up from his crouch. It was at times like these he really wondered about the police force. They were better for dealing with drunken drivers and petty crimes and utterly useless when it came to a professional job. Dark made his way deeper into the heart of the museum, where Seadancer was being kept.

It took all of five minutes to reach the main viewing hall, where the best pieces were kept. Any art aficionado would have died of delight in this room, but not Dark. He moved swiftly past the pieces, not even deigning to notice the famous Van Gogh. His eyes were fixed solely on the large canvas in the very centre of the room. He stopped three feet away from it, squinting at something. _Motion sensors-check. Pressure sensors-check. Heat sensors-check. Noise sensors-standard issue. Lasers-check. Oh me oh my. _Dark rolled his eyes scanned the rest of the room, looking for the trigger. At first, darkness met his eyes and he was just about to start clambering over the mesh of lasers when a white light flickered at the edge of his eye. He produced a small piece of plastic from his pocket, and flicked it almost carelessly at the light. It went off, and the glow from the lasers disappeared. _How painfully amateurish, _he thought to Daisuke. _You could get through this without any problems. _Ignoring the redhead's indignant protests, he reached the painting without any further ado. Then the cage slammed down on top of him and the sound of voices reached his ears. _Oops. _

"You're getting careless in your old age, Dark," Satoshi commented, emerging out of the shadows like some ghost. "I honestly thought this," he gestured at the cage, "was a waste of effort. But I guess it wasn't. I'll have to thank Inspector Saehara for this," he added as an afterthought.

"Meh," Dark replied. Clutching the artwork in his arms, he scooted away from the Commander. "You'll have to catch me first," he taunted. Closing his eyes, the thief began to focus on phasing out, but then the artwork began to glow. He looked down in shock, eyes wide. Judging from the gasp near him, he knew that Satoshi, too, had not expected this to happen. For the second time in five minutes, Dark Mousy had made a very big mistake.

He was floating in nothingness, unable to move. That white, searing light kept approaching him, but he couldn't do anything to avoid it. Dark desperately tried to move, he tried to flail or do something, but nothing happened. It was as though his body was utterly disconnected from his mind. Then Daisuke's form appeared in front of him and Dark opened his mouth to shout in horror, but nothing happened. The light hit and it was as though Daisuke was _absorbing _it. He wasn't dying; that part was definitely not in the equation; but it certainly wasn't something that would leave his Tamer unscathed. _Daisuke! What are you doing! _Then they were back on the ground with startling suddenness and Satoshi was staring at him, eyes wide in shock and jaw hanging down. Dark was possessed by the urge to burst out into laughter until movement caught his eye. He turned his head…

"Oh dear God," he breathed, unable to believe his eyes. Daisuke was sitting next to him, shivering slightly from the temperature in the room. That wasn't it, though. He was shirtless…and he had a tail. It wasn't an elegant cat's tail, nor was it a bushy fox's. It wasn't even a rat's hairless, pink one. It was…it was a fishtail. Daisuke flapped helplessly on the floor, arms wrapped around himself in a feeble attempt to preserve some of his natural body heat.

"D-D-Dark?" Daisuke stammered out. "Hiwatar-ri-kun?" Satoshi was standing there, still dazed. Dark decided that it would be wise to disappear quickly, before the police Commander regained his senses and before anyone else entered the room. Grabbing Daisuke, he concentrated and in a flurry of black feathers and white light he vanished, reappearing in the Niwas' living room seconds later with a resounding crash as he landed on the coffee-table, merboy and all.

All the adults leapt to their feet, shocked at this sudden entrance. Emiko rushed over to the fallen pair, helping them off the table. Daikii went upstairs to run a bath, as it was clear that Daisuke was cold and in his current…state…it would hardly be appropriate to tuck him into bed with a hot water bottle. Kosuke went for the kitchen, intending to prepare a hot drink for the two thieves.

**Fifteen minutes later:**

Dark sat on the edge of the bathtub, hands cupped around the mug. He looked down at Daisuke, who seemed perfectly fine in the warm water. He was even flipping his tail a little and grinning happily as it moved in accordance with his wishes. "So you're a merboy now, eh Daisuke?" Dark wryly asked. Daisuke looked at him and then nodded.

Cocking his head to one side, Dark looked closely at his Tamer. He reminded him of someone, especially in this state…"Daisuke?"

"Yes?"

"You know that movie you and the twins used to like watching?"

Daisuke frowned up at his friend. "Which one?" he asked. "We watched a lot of movies together."

"It was when you were pretty small, I think," the other replied. "The one about that princess…and she lost her voice? Because she was in love?" Daisuke blinked for a moment before brightening up.

"Oh! You mean 'The Little Mermaid'?" He asked.

Dark nodded. "Yeah. You look like her," he added after a moment's thought. Daisuke pouted and blushed.

"Do not!"

"Yes you do, Dai. I mean, look at you. You've got the tail, the hair, the disposition…" Dark ruffled Daisuke's slightly damp locks to emphasise his point. "Next thing you know, you'll be seducing me with your song."

The poor redhead flushed even darker. "What? I'm not seducing anyone!" He hastily retorted.

"I should jolly well hope not." Both boys jerked up to look at Kosuke, who had just entered the bathroom, eyebrow raised. "Hardly an appropriate choice of subject for this hour. Dark, I suggest that you get to bed and we'll sort this mess out tomorrow morning, when we're all wide awake." Neither protested, still too embarrassed at being caught. The purple-haired teen mumbled something along the lines of a 'Good night' and hastily escaped from the room, resisting the urge to just fall on the ground and whimper in shame and embarrassment. Kosuke looked at his son calmly, inquired after his comfort and then left Daisuke to the warm water.

**Next morning:**

Daisuke blinked and twisted uncomfortably as his body slowly awakened. A sloshing sound met his ears and he looked down, confused and still trapped in that state of half-sleep, where a nuclear explosion seemed trivial and memory had yet to return. Then he looked down and the events involving the Seadancer and everything else returned to him. Now awake, Daisuke carefully examined his new appendage. It looked just like any fish's tail would, he supposed. It was dark turquoise in colour and shimmered with a pearly light, and the fins at the end were certainly long, barely contained within the bath tub. Delicate, almost translucent fins edged the long tail, fluttering softly with the ripples in the water. Wonderingly, Daisuke reached out a hand to feel them and giggled at the silkiness tickling the palms of his hands. He played with his tail for a while, until Dark came in, yawning.

"Hey Dark!" Daisuke chirped. Dark groaned, unused to sleeping for fewer than eight to ten hours at least. He proceeded to somehow shove his head under the tap and in an explosion of water, squawks and splutters he was soon wide awake.

"Morning merboy." Daisuke pouted.

"How am I going to get to school?"

Dark blinked at him, not intending to say anything, but it soon became clear that he would have to intervene unless he wanted Daisuke foaming at the mouth in a panicked frenzy. "Daisuke," he calmly interrupted as soon as the redhead paused for breath, "I don't think you'll be going to school today, or any time soon unless this…condition of yours goes away. Honestly." He rolled his eyes to enhance the effect.

Daisuke glared at him fiercely from the bathtub, brushing his damp bangs out of his eyes. "I'll fall behind!"

"So?" Dark sorely regretted that one monosyllable as soon as it left his lips. Daisuke automatically began to recite the long list he had prepared God alone knew when. "Okay, okay, you've made your point. But you can't go to school. Not like that. And I most certainly can't go," he hastily added when Daisuke opened his mouth to point out that Dark himself had a perfectly serviceable body. "Look, I'll get you some brekkie and then we can chat this out with the rest of the clan. Whaddya say, Dai-chan?" Daisuke glared but nodded, knowing that Dark's mind was made up. The purple-haired teen straightened up from the wall he'd been leaning against and patted his Tamer on the head, eyes warm.

Dark had seen breakfast at the Niwas' many times through his host's eyes, but had never actually experienced one. For the first time ever, he was actually sitting in a chair, holding a fork and knife and staring at the shiny plates. Unfortunately, he felt just a little…guilty for taking his Tamer's place, as it had been his fault for using magic around the piece of art and thus unlocking the latent potential within. Daisuke had intervened for him yet again, causing him to become more or less completely incapable of functioning in the human world unless the spell could be reversed. "Dark?" It was Daikii, eyebrows raised. When the thief gave him a quick smile, the man said, "Hurry up. You need to feed Daisuke, don't you?" Despite his sneaking up on people and hearing private facts about their lives, he didn't like others knowing his business.

Dark hastily shoveled down the food, grabbed the dish that Emiko had prepared especially for her son and dashed upstairs. "Dai-chan honey, here's your breakfast!" He sweetly said. Daisuke, occupied with his tail again, yelped and thrashed in shock, splashing most of the bathroom with water. Luckily, the purple-haired teen's reflexes saved him. "Why, Daisuke," he teased, "You didn't have to try and wet me! I would have gotten in with you if you'd just ask!" The redhead made a couple of funny noises, tugged at his hair and then buried his face in his hands, mumbling all the while. "What was that, Dai-chan?" The thief wickedly asked, tossing a towel carelessly onto the wet toilet and seating himself on it. Producing a fork out of nowhere, he speared a piece of innocent hashbrown. "Never mind. Open wide, darling."

"How am I going to change back?" Daisuke asked. "I can't stay like this forever!"

Dark shrugged, teasing manner gone. "I don't know, Daisuke. Eat." He pushed the fork at his Tamer's mouth again, but the boy backed away.

"I'm not a baby," he growled cutely. "I can feed myself."

Dark silently handed the plate over, hit by another wave of guilt. He watched Daisuke eating, tail flipping about in the water. "Hey, Dai?" He asked quietly. The tone in his voice caused the fourteen-year old to look up, eyes questioning.

"Yes, Dark?"

"Do you…um, do you…blame me?" he whispered.

Daisuke put down the plate on the edge of the bathtub, keeping half an eye on it to make sure that it wouldn't fall onto the soggy floor and cause a mess. Leaning over, he placed a hand on Dark's knee. "Dark, look at me." Dark looked up. "I don't blame you for using magic; anyone would have done that. I just put myself in, because it wouldn't have helped if you got knocked out and Satoshi lost control of Krad—"

Dark shook his head stubbornly. "I should have known better. Generally magic triggers the curses, so I shouldn't have—"

"Should have never made anything better," Daisuke sagely said. "C'mere." Holding out his arms, he patiently waited. Dark blinked and then leaned over, pushing his head into the crook of his Tamer's neck. The redhead wrapped his arms around Dark and rocked slowly, nuzzling the other.

"It's still my fault," Dark mumbled into Daisuke's shoulder. "I shouldn't have let you throw yourself in the way of that light…"

Daisuke sighed; he hated it when Dark would blame himself for bringing bad luck. "Listen," he gently said, tilting backwards so that he could see the thief's eyes. "It doesn't _matter_. I can always catch up with school, like you said. I'm sure we'll find a way to reverse the spell." When Dark didn't respond, Daisuke gently cupped his face in his hands. "Look, even if you hadn't used magic, the magic within the painting might have still woken up and I would still have become a mer-er, a merboy." Dark grinned slightly in spite of himself at Daisuke's close slip-up.

"But I failed to—"

"You didn't fail at anything, Dark," Daisuke told him calmly. "I chose to move in front of you. I chose to let the magic have me, because it would do neither of us any good if you died on the spot. Now, stop feeling guilty because it isn't going to make things any better. Promise?" He waited until Dark looked at him squarely in the eyes, and then repeated, "Promise?"

"I…" Dark dropped his head a little.

"Dark, for once in your life, get this through your thick skull: I do not blame you." Daisuke enunciated each and every word slowly and clearly, hoping that his stubborn boyfriend would get it through his head that he was in no way, shape or form responsible for the theft's going wrong. "Mom doesn't blame you Dad doesn't blame you. I wouldn't be surprised if Grandpa told you to do it again. With likes it (said inference being drawn from when the rabbit tried to play with his fins). See? No one blames you. So stop moping already!"

Dark sighed and leaned on Daisuke again. The redhead could feel his jaw moving as he spoke. "Ya know, Dai-chan…I guess there wasn't really anything we could do about it."

The redhead let out the breath he'd been holding. "Good boy," he wryly said in answer to Dark's admission.

"So…" The thief looked up, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Seeing as you're not going to be getting any visitors for the next three hours…"

Kosuke walked in, eyebrows raised, hands shuffling through a sheaf of papers. "You'll have to get Earthwalker tonight," he dryly commented. "It's the other half of Seadancer."

"So it'll change me back?" Daisuke asked.

"That's right," Kosuke answered, smiling slightly. "Well, we hope so, at least."

"Oh." Daisuke drooped a little, then he looked at his father. "Dad?"

"Aa?"

"Could I…" the redhead fidgeted nervously. "Could I swim in the sea then, please? Just for today…you know, before I change back. I…I want to see what the sea's like," he said. Dark and Kosuke looked at each other, then nodded.

"Dark, why don't you take him down in the car? It'll be easier for all of us, as I have to finish off some research anyways. Dark looked at Daisuke, then grinned widely.

"Sure thing."

"Don't get caught," Kosuke lightly said as he left. "And don't try anything funny, boys." Both teens looked at each other and smiled sheepishly, already planning for the night ahead. "Oh, and Dark, make sure you get back before five. You'll need to prepare for the theft, won't you." With those words, the dark haired man left.

Daisuke whined in the back of the car, fishtail covered by bags of ice (it was the closest substitute to water that Dark could find). "Dark! Are we there yet?" The thief groaned and allowed himself to press his forehead against the steering wheel of the vehicle for just a moment, wondering just _when _Daisuke had become so whiny.

"No! Give me a break here, will you? I'm trying to get there without breaking any laws for once!" Daisuke ignored him and continued to whine, his translucent tailfin flopping about in an agitated manner. Dark was thankful that the ice weighed most of his Tamer down. The car shot past the fork in the road, its driver unaware that he had missed a vital turning point. His passenger, on the other hand, was not so happy.

"You missed the turn! Da-ARK!" Daisuke whined. Inwardly, he was enjoying himself immensely, in spite of the goose bumps on his chest. It was payback for all the times Dark had whined _inside his head _and caused him no little amount of distress. "You missed the turn! You have to go back now, and it's already 2:30pm! Daaarrrkkk!"

You had to feel sorry for Kaitou Dark. After all, he wasn't exactly the best pathfinder in the world (he was only familiar with museums in relation to the Niwa house) and the beach had never been on his 'Places to Hit' list, considering that he never had the _time _to go visit it. "Sheesh, all right, all right Dai-chan, I'm sorry! I'll turn back!" He didn't know how much he sounded like Kosuke when Emiko had been pregnant; she'd harangued him to no end.

Performing a U-Turn fairly successfully, Dark finally managed to arrive at the beach and park the car properly. It was just close to 3:45pm, which gave them plenty of time to enjoy themselves a little, even though Dark remained on the shore whilst Daisuke swam far out. It seemed that whilst Daisuke was part-fish, he was able to breathe underwater for long periods of time. The thief looked up at the sky, wondering whether Earthwalker would be able to reverse the effects of Seadancer. Noting that the sun was starting to disappear behind the cliffs and streaks of gold dominated the sky instead of light blue, he stood up and whistled.

"So you're telling me that Earthwalker is a sculpture? Why not a painting like its other?"

Daikii sighed. "You said it yourself, Dark. It's the other half of Seadancer. It stands to reason that the artist would want it to be different in every way."

"But that makes it difficult to display, doesn't it?"

"Idiot!" Daikii cuffed Dark. "I thought you were smart. Use your brain, boy! The pair is never meant to meet!"

Dark winced, rubbing his head where Daikii's stick had smacked it. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Daikii growled irritably. "Now get ready. You're scheduled to steal it at 11:00pm tonight!" Dark nodded and then walked back upstairs, peeking into the bathroom to check on Daisuke on his way up.

The museum was a in a frenzy of activity, and an innocent, unknowing passerby would have thought that they were re-enacting the London Blitzkrieg of WWII. It was a new police strategy; keep it dark. Unfortunately, the effect was somewhat diminished by the number of reporters, journalists and spectators crowded just outside the towering building.

The windows were dark, with no glimmer of light to provide even a hint of Earthwalker's location. "Come on…" Dark cooed to the window he was currently trying to open. He had poured acid on the lock a while ago, but so far it didn't seem to be working. In a way, that was a good sign; it showed that there was something in this room worthy of protection. Namely, Earthwalker.

"Guess who?" A familiar voice whispered into his ear. Dark barely had time to widen his eyes in shock before he was brutally flung to the ground from the fourth-storey window. Policemen swarmed around him at once and the thief knew that if he didn't move soon, he would be the newest addition to the Cook County Jail, and probably joining in with 'The Cellblock Tango'.

Soaring up and away with the help of With, he located the window. Now that everyone knew he was here, there was no point in trying to be nice, so he kicked the window open. Glass shards flew everywhere, but luckily nothing injured him. He entered the room, only to find a card, resting on the velvet cushion.

**Nice try, Dark. Better luck next time. **

_Crap! _He thought, eyes darting around as though expecting Earthwalker to appear out of nowhere. "Looking for this?" Krad appeared next to the window, moonlight playing across his features and throwing them into sharp contrast. In his right hand, he held Earthwalker. "Good luck." Faster than the eye could see, Krad casually tossed the precious sculpture out the window.

"With, go!" The rabbit soared out into the night after the statue, leaving Dark alone with Krad. "Huh. Pathetic." He placed a sneer on his face, even though he was worried. _What if With didn't get there in time? _Right after he had this thought, something heavy was dropped into the bag slung over his shoulder. _Guess that's not an option, _he thought in relief, concentrating fully on the battle now.

As he flew home that night, he wondered why Krad hadn't come after him. Usually the other would detain him for as long as possible, just to piss him off, but tonight his attempts at fighting were seemingly half-hearted. _Maybe Satoshi's finally growing a backbone, _Dark thought and snickered to himself. _As if Krad would let him. _

Emiko was waiting at the door, smiling cheerfully as ever. To look at her, one would not think that she was the mother of Kaitou Dark and that her biological son, Daisuke, had been turned into a merboy just the night before. "Ah, Dark! You're back! Did you get it?" Her voice was light as ever, but Dark knew that she was worried for Daisuke. "And not a moment too soon! Na, you want to come?" Dark nodded and followed her up the stairs, the backpack swinging carelessly from one shoulder.

"Hi mom! Hi Dark! How was it?" Daisuke was as cheerful as ever, thousand-watt smile and all. His tail jumped a little in the water, a greeting in its own special way.

"I…" _I ran into Krad again. And boy, was he off. _"I didn't find it particularly challenging." Add a wink and a coy shrug for reassurance. "Here it is!" Flourish of hand, plunge into backpack. Whip out Earthwalker and grin at Daisuke. Ignore squeal of delight from Emiko.

Dark didn't look at the sculpture as he handed it over, intent on looking at Daisuke. The redhead caught the look on his face and nodded. "Mom? Will I need you and Daikii to change back?"

"I don't think so, Dai-chan. Here are your clothes," Emiko cheerfully said, placing the bundle of cloth on the sink. "And here's Earthwalker!" She handed the sculpture to the boy and a bright green light surrounded him.

Daisuke was floating alone. He looked down and noticed that his tail was still present, and he looked around once more, only to see nothingness. "H-hello?" He called out carefully. "Is anyone there? Anyone?"

The light surrounding him pulled itself into one area, in front of him. It swirled before solidifying into a recognizable shape, mainly that of an old lady. She wore a plain brown robe, knotted at the waist with a thin vine and with the hood pulled up. He couldn't see her face properly. In her right hand, she held a staff that had vines curling all around it.

"Ah, you met my sister," the lady commented. "I apologise. She likes to play tricks on people." Daisuke nodded, unsure of what to say. The spirit of Earthwalker nodded. "Yes, yes…I'll change you back. Come here." She crooked a finger at him and Daisuke looked down once more at his tail. Hesitatingly, he flipped it, expecting nothing to happen. Instead, he was propelled forward, just like he would have been had he been underwater. He halted in front of Earthwalker, who tapped her staff lightly on tail three times. "It'll hurt," the lady told him. "And your feet will feel like they're being stabbed by shards of glass for the first two days. So be careful. The pain should disappear after that." Daisuke nodded, vaguely noting that she sounded like a doctor. Then all was silent once more and Daisuke felt a searing pain tear up his tail.

"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Daisuke screamed and thrashed in the tub, eyes glazed over with pain. It felt as though someone was ruthlessly slicing into him with a large meat cleaver. Dark was horrified at this and rushed over, holding onto his Tamer's shoulders and trying to calm him. _If Earthwalker did this, I'll personally smash the thing! _He thought grimly. Daisuke's cries brought the rest of the household upstairs, but they were powerless to do anything except watch.

Daisuke's screams gradually died down into whimpers, and it was then that Dark saw the cause of the pain. "Well," he commented as he tenderly scooped the other out of the bathtub, "at least he's back to normal." Emiko nodded, eyes still worried. Dazedly she picked up the clothes, still lying next to the sink.

"Here," she said kindly. "Let me help." Half-carrying and half-dragging Daisuke into his room, she managed to get her son dressed under five minutes and tuck him into bed. She came out of the room to find Dark pacing restlessly outside. "Stop worrying like that, Dark," she lightly scolded before going downstairs to prepare a light snack, in case Daisuke should wake up and feel hungry.

Dark sat at Daisuke's desk, glancing up at the redhead every now and again, making sure that he was all right. So far, the redhead seemed to be perfectly fine, sleeping peacefully. The thief stayed like that for the entire night and watched the sun rise, savouring the peace. _Daisuke would probably say something utterly sappy about this, _he thought as he looked at the meeting point between light and dark.

At around seven, Daisuke stirred slightly. Dark looked up and thought for two seconds before mounting the ladder and looking up at his Tamer. A dizzying sensation came over him and he wobbled precariously on the ladder. Groping blindly with one hand, he grabbed Daisuke's wrist and the feeling increased. Dark felt himself being sucked into Daisuke once more and he knew that all the effects of Seadancer were reversed. _Back to the Dreamworld, _he thought as he became part of Daisuke once more.

Daisuke slowly woke up to find himself in his warm bed once more, with a pair of legs instead of a mermaid's tail. A shot of disappointment went through him as he remembered just how fun it had been to swim in the sea with his newfound ability, but at the same time he was relieved that he was back to normal. He didn't like having to stay in the bathtub, anyway. Tentatively, he reached out in his mind, looking for Dark. A grunt met his advances and Daisuke sighed, wishing that he could have stayed separate from the thief. Rolling over, he sat up and began to climb down from his bed. However…

"Ouch!" Daisuke half-gasped, half-screamed. His feet _hurt_. With every step he took, it felt as though a hot poker was being pushed through into his legs.

_Daisuke! What's going on? _Dark was immediately awake and ready to fight should the need arise. Panting, the redhead leaned heavily on the side of the ladder, breathing deeply and trying to ignore the flames searing through the soles of his feet. –It's nothing, Dark…" he whispered. –Just…need…ah!- The pain flared up once more as he shifted and Daisuke felt beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. He remembered the words of Earthwalker and relayed them to Dark, who was now clamouring for an explanation.

_You're telling me that she _gave _you that pain? _Dark demanded.

-It was the only way! Besides, it'll disappear after a while, and…-

_No ands, ifs and buts, _Dark swiftly ordered Daisuke. _You'll have to stay home today. There's no way on earth you'll possibly be able to cope with school. I'm sure your mom will understand once she hears the problem. _

Unfortunately for Daisuke, Emiko most certainly did _not _agree with Dark's opinion and packed him off to school anyway. Shuffling painfully down the street, the redhead prayed that no one would notice anything off about him.

The next two days passed in burning agony, especially when Daisuke went through the obstacle course that he called home. Running through lasers and tripwires became torture in their own special way, and dodging paintballs and other such charming projectiles was even worse. Dark could only watch and comfort the other as he sobbed with the pangs of sheer pain that coursed through the soles of his feet and his legs.

**Wednesday morning: **

Daisuke slowly rolled over in bed, praying fervently that he would be able to get down the ladder somewhat more quickly today. He was pleasantly surprised when he placed a foot on the top rung of the ladder and felt no pain at all, the way he was before this whole mess. "I'm…I'm better," he whispered to no one at all. It felt good to be able to say those words again.

In the Niwa vault, where all the cursed artworks were kept, the sculpture of Earthwalker suddenly developed a toothy grin where she had once looked stern and imposing.

-Dark?- Daisuke questioned in the confines of his own mind.

_Yeah?_

-I never told you this…but thanks for going out to get Earthwalker.-

Dark shrugged and Daisuke swore that he could feel the thief's lips brush across his mouth gently. _Of course, Daisuke. Of course. _Then his lips quirked upwards and the purple-haired teen whispered, _My little merboy. _

* * *

Okay, so I guess it didn't pan out as I thought it would. For your information, yes Daisuke's bed is quite high up, it's one of those things where there's a gap below for the desk. It's great for small rooms.  
If you're wondering why Satoshi didn't ask anything at school…he was trying to deal with Krad, You know how the poor guy gets depressed after he loses control.  
Thanks for reading up to here, and review please! 


	12. Little Crooked Smile

**Little Crooked Smile:**

Disclaimer: DN Angel is not mine.

Warnings: Aw heck, do you need them? Irreverence galore: I'm trying to write this in a more cynical fashion, so pretty much everything sacred is trashed. OOC, POV.

A/N: This fic is not based on the series, so I guess it could be AU-ish. Or, you could interpret it as a 'Behind Closed Doors' type fic, meaning that it focuses more on things that you don't see in the series.

* * *

That little crooked smile's always present on his face whenever he's thinking. It's funny how, for someone who smiles so much, the indication of his true feelings is a little crooked smile when his face is so suited for large, generous ones. His eyes are always dancing and it's clear that he's happy, but I will always remember the little crooked smile.

I think it was his fourteenth birthday when I first noticed his little crooked smile. We had just come back from stealing the 'Sacred Maiden', and he was still dressed as me. He went up to his room to get his clothes prepared for a shower and I talked a little to him. At first, he was frowning; he highly disapproved of my antics. I talked him out of being so angry in the shower. I took the time to talk to him, to listen to his point of view and reassure him. I even cracked a few jokes along the way, at the expense of dear Commander Hiwatari and the local police force, but I don't think he took them very well. Certainly not the joke about the Commander.

"You know, Dark, he's not all that bad," Daisuke protested as he stood under the stinging spray of the shower. I rolled my eyes in response.

_No, of course not, not to you anyway, Daisuke dearest, _I retorted. _You're a law-abiding citizen. To him, people like me are classified as Public Enemy Number One. _Daisuke sighed again and scrubbed at a spot of correction fluid on his arm, where it had been smashed against his paper by mistake. I continued fluidly for another couple of minutes; he swears that I can wax poetic about the oddest things; did he ever tell you about my monologue on Krad?-but that's a story for another day. The thing is, I made a joke about the good commander's mother doing something very improbable with a water cockroach, and my little Tamer rose to his defense with the utmost vehemence.

"That's so mean, Dark!" A somewhat inadequate response, but the delivery was most passionate and had I been a drama teacher, I would have given him ten out of ten for it.

_Why? It's probably true! _He glared and I decided to back off just a bit. It was then that the little crooked smile made itself known.

"Dark?" He asked softly as he was toweling off. He interrupted me from my sleep; I was just dozing off and then he woke me up again. He was still wearing that odd little smile on his face.

It was then that it morphed into the little crooked smile that I now know so well.

"Dark?" He asked softly as he was toweling off. He interrupted me from my sleep; I was just dozing off and then he woke me up again. He was still wearing that odd little smile on his face.

_Yeah? _I grumbled in reply, displeased at being woken up.

"Thanks."

I roll my eyes, but am too tired to actually be bothered relieving him of the notion that I was trying to cheer him up. I wasn't. No matter what I say, though, that little crooked smile says that he knows so much more and so much better, which he doesn't. Supercilious little thing, Daisuke is.

The second time I saw his little crooked smile was when Satoshi Hiwatari, Krad's host, asked him if he wanted to share a room. Contrary to popular belief, I am _not _a pervert, and I did _not _make any cracks about Daisuke and Satoshi being pillow friends. Oh, I protested volubly. I threatened to sing '99, 999, 999 Bottles of Beer on the Wall' until he revoked his decision and stayed with Masahiro or someone nice and safe, but being the kind-hearted little thing that he is, Daisuke could not say no and he threatened to cut me off from my beloved supply of Gummi Bears until I accepted the fact that he was going to be rooming with my…well, not my arch nemesis, but the next closest thing. So, you know, I went along with it…but I digress. Where was I again…? Ah, yes, his little crooked smile. After I promised that I would 'behave and not insult Hiwatari-kun', that annoying little crooked smile appeared on his face once more. I like to think that it was directed at me, but I think he was directing it at the Commander dearest.

Daisuke's little crooked smile, funnily enough, is as versatile as it is puzzling. It always appears on his face when he's trying to sort things out between Riku and Risa, who argue almost as much as Daisuke and I do. It's almost as though he's amused to see them squabbling, and is only trying to solve their problems because he doesn't want a fuss. I remember how he was being told off by Emiko one time, because he dropped a bowl of hot soup on the carpet after tripping over With, but…well, I guess he overdosed on Prozac that day (I'm kidding!), because instead of cowering under his mother's wrathful gaze like he normally would, he gave her that crooked smile. Okay, so there was a blush on his cheeks, but still…the look on his face was so enigmatic I began to rethink my opinion of my new host.

Throughout the course of our short (but interesting) escapades, I came to appreciate Daisuke's little crooked smile more than ever. I could recite four or five more instances in which the little crooked smile played in his favour, but I'm not going to go into detail. That would be boring, and Heaven forbid I bore you. I'm Kaitou Dark, for crying out loud.

It was one of those times in the library with Satoshi Hiwatari. Again they had been assigned to work together (I swear, the Big Guy up there has a weird sense of humour) and they were both poring through tomes of information. Daisuke was smiling happily as usual and Hiwatari…well, he was Hiwatari. Enough said. So there I was, keeping an eye on the commander just in case he decided to let his alter ego come out, and Daisuke was chatting to him. They stayed like that for a couple of hours, then I noticed my dear other half's host was starting to squirm. Now, I don't know if you've ever _met _him in person, but he is quite imposing. Not as imposing as me, but he's got something about him anyway (no, I _don't _have a thing for him. I appreciate art; doesn't mean I have a canvas fetish). The thing is, Hiwatari-san; to Dai that'd be Hiwatari-_kun_, was squirming like a little child. He of the many all-nighters, he of the still and patient disposition was wriggling like a little child in a theatre in the middle of Hamlet.

I prodded Daisuke a couple of times, pointing this out. Funnily enough, he didn't care. He just kept blowing me off with that little crooked smile and the words, "He's fine," which in my opinion should be banned from the language.

_Daisuke, _I growled. _He is squirming. If he acts like that, either he's trying to restrain Krad or else he wants to do something to you. _

My little host shot me that crooked smile of his, and continued to repeat his new mantra whilst scanning through the book he was holding. "Hiwatari-kun," at this point, he gently placed a hand on the other's arm and I swear, the blue-haired guy _jumped_. "Are you okay?"

He fixed Daisuke with that intense gaze of his, and true to form (guess he decided to lay off the Prozac, huh?) my Tamer started to blush under it. Then the most startling thing happened: Satoshi Hiwatari-or should that be Hikari?-leaned forward and gently grasped Daisuke's wrist and pressed his mouth against his (Daisuke's, dolts). The first thing that ran through my mind, funnily enough, was _irritation_. It wasn't irritation at such a weird thing; honestly now, in the course of three hundred years you see a lot of things; but I was irritated that he was moving in _my _territory. I tease Daisuke, and so do his mother and grandfather, and so do Risa and Takeshi and many of his other classmates, but that's friendly teasing. Only I'm allowed to tease Daisuke like that, and therefore the good Commander was intruding. Without thinking, I possessed Daisuke's body and shoved him to the back of my mind, telling him to behave. _Time to teach the Commander a lesson, _I gleefully thought.

Pressing forward further, I let the Hiwatari continue 'giving me CPR' (I refuse to call it kissing) until he started trying to open my mouth. Now that was just a little too much; doesn't this guy know when to quit? I pushed back gently and scrambled away, trying to look scared. Funnily enough, it wasn't that difficult. I shut my eyes, pretending to be scared witless and ignoring Daisuke's shouting in the back of my head. I push him away almost brutally and concentrate on the Hiwatari, who looked…well, he looked like a kicked puppy. I felt sorry for the guy, I really did, but he was messing about on my turf, and what kind of Kaitou would I be if I didn't even defend my own treasures?

"You know," I dryly observed, "it would help if you gave Daisuke some warning first, C-Hiwatari-san." He flinched a little at the formality in my tone, and I decided to be a little nicer. Heaven knows Krad's not exactly Mr. Sensitive.

Satoshi narrowed his eyes. "What right do you have?" He hissed back. Ooh, venomous. Well, I was just fine with that, and Dai's guise helped me even more.

"Well, you know, usually the object of your affections should _know _what you're about to do," I lightly replied. "Besides, Dai-chan's not at all interested in you." Then I cursed myself for this careless remark, as my counterpart, one could say, was definitely going to challenge this.

"And just how would you know? You take everything, uncaring of the other's feelings!"

I leaned forward and gently tapped his nose. "Ah, so righteous. Tell me, Hiwatari-san, just because everyone does it…does it make the deed _right_?" For the first time since this whole fiasco, he actually looks a little…torn. I guess he realized that he dug himself into a hole. Then Daisuke snatched control away from me again and to my infinite horror, as soon as the detective looked up, he _kissed _him. Oh…bloody hell. _Daisuke, what are you doing?_ I screeched, ignoring the fact that I now sounded like Risa. He told me to shut up.

When we got home, Daisuke looked-and felt-as smug as a lion with a juicy antelope on one of those nature programmes. Well, the little bugger would; he just had a make-out session with Azumano's favourite fourteen-year old! Needless to say, I was a bit riled. No, I _wasn't _jealous, stop with the conspiracy theories already will you! I was just annoyed by the fact that after being smooched without warning, Daisuke was throwing himself into the active person's arms! I mean, seriously. He's going to be known as the town bicycle soon, what with Azumano's gossip circles and his mother. All right, so he didn't sleep with him. So what? You know what gossip's like. So I decided to teach him a lesson. Of course, his little crooked smile popped up again and…well, you know. Things didn't work out so nicely.

_Daisuke, _I whined. _You little…_

-Sorry?- He responded. He opened his eyes wide and gave me the 'innocent' look, but I knew better.

_You know full well what I'm talking about, _I snapped back, irked by how lightly he was taking everything. _Why on earth did you let him…continue? _Daisuke just gave me that blasted enigmatic crooked smile, and I glared even harder. It didn't occur to me until later that our roles seemed to have been reversed.

He continued to smile at me, not saying a single word. Oh, Lord, you have no idea how infuriating it was. Normally I don't lose my temper that easily, but something about that little crooked smile just rubbed me the wrong way. I growled and yet he continued to smile as though nothing had happened. His thoughts, however, were the main trigger. He kept focusing on how good a kisser the Hiwatari was, and it was really getting on my nerves. _Shut…up, _I grated to him. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably end up with a migraine by the end of the day, and so will Daisuke. We share a lot of physical feelings, you know, and headaches aren't an exception.

Of course, Daisuke having that little mean streak in him (ha, I bet you didn't know that, did you?), he continued to focus on how…hot and heavy the session was. In my humble opinion, the Hiwatari was a terrible kisser-technique was sorely lacking-but I guess it's good, as it means that Daisuke hasn't 'been around the block' yet, so to speak. Wait…I'm digressing again, aren't I. Anyhow, Daisuke's still wearing that little crooked smile and calmly picking out a shirt from his wardrobe for tomorrow, so I decide to give him my take on the whole incident. Not that he didn't get the gist of it in the first place, but you know…_Daisuke, _I say. _Why on earth would you think that the Hiwatari is a good kisser in the first place? He has no technique or finesse whatsoever. The only thing he has is determination and the point of kissing is not to see how quickly you can get your partner to play tonsil hockey! _I pause and check his feelings, but to my surprise there's not much embarrassment. Instead, there's…exasperation?

-Dark, you don't get it, do you?- His voice was somewhat patronizing, but all right; I can take things with a grain of salt. –His…enthusiasm…- I cut him off at this point, catching the hesitation in his voice.

_Oh, the _enthusiasm, _eh Dai-chan? _I wink and…score! He's turning slightly red now. I continued blithely, ignoring his now growing embarrassment. _So you like enthusiasm, Daisuke? _He blushed further and mumbled something, and I couldn't help but snicker slightly at the reversal in our roles. _You know, love, _I purred, _I'd be more than happy to show you 'enthusiasm'. _With a roguish wink, I block him off and settle back to watch the ensuing frustration. Daisuke didn't disappoint me, but he wasn't exactly in a great mood afterwards, so I left him alone for the rest of the evening.

Towards nightfall, I re-appeared in his consciousness to see whether he was still a little riled up. No, you dolts; I _wasn't _concerned for him in that way. Quit with the conspiracy theories already, will you? I just wanted to see if he'd be a little more…amenable. To my surprise, he was all perky and cheerful again, and he welcomed me back with an open mind. –Hi Dark!- I blinked, not expecting such an exuberant welcome.

_Ne, Dai-chan. What's up? Did you get a love letter? _I mocked him even though it was clear from his attitude that he would much rather not discuss his love life with me. Normally, I wouldn't be interested, but when Hiwatari got thrown into the mix…oh boy, it became the hottest gossip of the day. There was no theft tonight though, so I had all the time in the world to bug him. _No? Oh, I know. You got a phone call from your boyfriend. _I ignored the tension in his shoulders, even though it was clear that he would much rather not discuss the issue further.

_C'mon, _I beg shamelessly. _You can tell me. _He ignored me, only stopping to give me one of those patented glares he has down to an art. _Aw, I feel special. Tell me, does Hiwatari see that face? _His expression faltered for just a moment and I almost felt bad for him. Note the almost. Hey, he's my Tamer; it's my job to make sure he knows exactly what he's getting into each time. _Well, Dai-chan? _So what? I'm blunt. Better than those people beating about the bush.

Now I'm here, sitting inside his head, and that pretty much brings you up to speed with everything. _Daisuke, _I prod. _Why did you kiss him? You can't seriously be thinking about a relationship with him. Riku Harada, ring any bells? _He continues to ignore me, and I'm left to wonder why he's so defensive all of a sudden.

-Dark,- he says after a pause as he slams the cup of water on the table. –Why do you care?-

I chuckle, although it's more to hide my hesitation in answering than anything else. For some funny reason, the words that come to mind in response to his question aren't the ones that I tell myself. I wonder why? Well; it just means that this whole thing is getting to me more than I thought. _It's my job to keep an eye on you. Part of the Angel job description, don't you know. _He didn't accept the answer; I feel dissatisfaction thorough our little bond before it's hastily covered up. Fine; I can take the silent treatment just as well as anyone else can.

Throughout dinner Daisuke continues to treat me as though I don't exist. I mean, it doesn't hurt as much as it would normally, seeing as I'm invisible to the human eye for the most part, but still…you know, it's annoying being ignored by one of the few people who _can _see you, no matter what. When that treatment comes from Daisuke, you have to wonder whether you did something wrong. Especially when it comes from Daisuke.

The little crooked smile didn't make its way onto his face in the next few days, where he was constantly with the Hiwatari. Honestly, it's almost unnerving. Daisuke didn't seem particularly inclined to talk to me about anything even remotely related to the annoying detective, so I left things in that state. Then, of course, Emiko had to go and throw a spanner into the works.

It was just another day where Daisuke was at school and I was mooching around in the house. After the Dual Plate…you know, it got easier to get away from Daisuke and all that. No, seriously. I guess that we both just needed some time away from each other, that's all. So anyways, I was lying on the couch with With in my lap and channel-surfing when Miss Mother of the Year comes in, bearing a plate of cookies and a glass of Pepsi. "Dark!" She merrily chirps, "I brought you a snack!" I groan in reply and without missing a beat, she _joins me on the couch. _All right; so normally you wouldn't think much of that, would you, but in this case, I _know _something's up. Unlike my last guess, this one is deadly accurate. "So, Dark. Care to tell me 'what's up' with you and Daisuke?" She serenely ignores my choking, passing me the glass and patting me on the back with that omnipresent, inscrutable smile on her face.

I right myself and stare at her blankly, hoping to confuse her. It doesn't work. Her enthusiasm isn't dimmed one iota and I'm starting to fear that she'll worm everything out of me. Casting around in my mind, I look for a suitably ambiguous and puzzling answer that will take five minutes to process and five more minutes to reply to. _Dangit, _I think to myself, _Why can't Daisuke be around at times like these? _"…you don't have to worry Dark, your secret's safe with me!" My head jerks up at these ominous sounding words and I gawk at her. Has this woman no shame?

"What are you talking about?" I manage to say with a semblance of smoothness. I try to laugh her words off, but even to my ears the sound's fake and forced. "Emiko-san, it's not as though…" She briskly cuts me off, even waving a finger in my face like she would to Daisuke.

"Now now Dark, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I know you and Daisuke's relationship is on the rocks, and I know something's bugging you. So why don't you just tell me? After all—" My turn.

"After all, my secret's safe with you," I say wryly. Grabbing a cookie, I turn it over in my hands a little before wrapping it up in some tissue from the box on the coffee table and placing it to one side. Heaven alone knows if she put Truth Serum in it; I know she'd be more than capable of the deed should the occasion arise. And I'd much rather not be spilling my guts out to my Tamer's mother, thank you very much. "Emiko-san…" I try for charm this time, but my heart's not in it. "Please don't worry about me." The elusive phrase from earlier comes to mind and I don't hesitate to use it. "It's just a little thing. It's made between two people, and it should stay between two people." I pat her hand for extra reassurance, but I don't feel as confident as I should. For some reason, Daisuke's little crooked smile comes to mind and I can just imagine him standing there, smiling away whilst I try to explain everything without giving away too much. She flaps her hand dismissively at me and for a moment, I can pretend that I'm real and that she's my mother in every sense of the word.

"Of course, of course. But sometimes, we all need a little push, hm?" I look at her again, but of course she's wearing that inscrutable look. Just like Daisuke.

"What do you mean, 'a little push'?" I mildly ask. The key here is to act uninterested; knowing Emiko's sadistic nature, she'll probably dangle it in front of my eyes tantalizingly and when I jump, she'll yank it away. Unfortunately, having a son has versed Emiko in the ways of men and…and let's face it, she's not stupid. Smiling cheerfully, she gets up, taking the now empty glass with her.

"You know," she says before she returns to the kitchen, "I could help."

"Everyone says that," I call back before returning to my previous activity: killing my brain with bad daytime soaps and quiz shows. I decide to squander today in front of the television.

**Afternoon: **

"I'm home!" Daisuke cheerfully calls. I silently count to three in my head and shortly after, I hear the metallic clanging of the gate as it closes down. Judging from the yelp, I guess it barely missed him.

The door swings open shortly and he bursts into the living room, only to be smothered by Emiko. I almost laugh at this; it seems that he has one extra obstacle to deal with now. Then I catch sight of…you guessed it, dear little Hiwatari-kun. Fortunately, he hasn't seen me yet and I hastily return to Daisuke's mind.

"So you add this to five and then divide it? What happens to the 7_x _then?"

Satoshi patiently explains that the 7_x _no longer exists, as it has been cancelled out by the 14_x_ for the fourth time. Daisuke is still scratching his head, completely baffled by the numbers and letters. I snickered at his obvious bewilderment; after all, the concept wasn't difficult and for the short time I had attended school properly, I had been told that I had an inordinate talent for numbers. Then again, I'm good at everything. I'm Kaitou Dark; it's part of the job requirement.

Time goes by and I notice that the distance between the two is slowly narrowing. _Just like in that cheesy soap…oh wait, all of them are like that, _I think to myself sardonically. I can just picture the entire scenario, complete with me as the spirit of the dearly beloved, departed boyfriend hovering above them, giving them his blessing with arms outstretched like that biblical figure people are always banging on about nowadays. I snicker to myself. Yeah, right. Like I'd give Hiwatari my blessing. The only thing he can look forward to getting from me is a raspberry.

So anyway, the two lovebirds (that word makes me sick) are gravitating towards each other and I'm sitting there, watching. Nothing interrupts them, sadly, and they pretty much forget about the homework after a minute or so. Right there and then, I resolve to make Daisuke's life a living hell, even if it's just for the night. Hey; misery loves company.

As embarrassing as it may be, the young couple (can't you hear the sarcasm dripping from that phrase?) are rudely interrupted by Niwa Daiki. I must say, the old man wasn't particularly pleased by what he saw and I'm honestly surprised Hiwatari didn't meet his end at the hands of the Niwa clan that night. Or maybe not; I hear he was asked to join the track team five years in a row and if the demonstration given was anything to go by, he had a nice career as an Olympic track athlete ahead of him should he think of leaving the police force. Not to mention all the practice I've been giving him. Emiko went berserk, Daiki lost control of himself (as well as a certain bodily organ) and even Towa-chan looked a tad homicidal that night. Daisuke was grounded and if it weren't for the fact that I was miserable too, I would have consoled him. As it was, I merely rubbed it in until he snapped.

_I told you the Hiwatari bugger was a bad choice, but did you listen? Oh no, God forbid, you just _had _to do things your way! Now look at this mess. We're not going to be able to perform for a long time, Daisuke, I can tell you that right now. _I would have continued, but I was interrupted at this point.

-What the hell is your point, Dark?- Seems like Daisuke's feeling the pinch too. –Is there a problem or something? I know you don't like Satoshi, but he's a perfectly nice person! It's just that you're forever bickering!- I sense that I've gone too far, but Daisuke's letting everything out. –If this is the kind of thing I have to look forward to in life, doing things for everyone but myself, then I don't want to be a Niwa!- Woah, now that was something. –Mom's obsessed with you and Dad runs himself ragged just to find things for you to steal!- I think he would have said more, but he stopped himself. Eyes blazing with fury, he glares at me and I guess it wouldn't be far off the mark if I said that he was a lot more than just agitated. Giving up, I decide to have that long overdue tête-à-tête with him. I appear before him in a column of light and land on the floor with a thump. Dang, I always forget that I appear and solidify three inches off the floor.

"Now we can talk properly," I casually say as I lean against the leg of his desk chair. I stretch lazily, ignoring the glare that he's giving me. "Just what's been eating you, anyway?"

He scowls at me before turning away and crossing his arms. I roll my eyes and sigh, uncaring of whether he hears or not. "Are you finished with your tantrum yet?" I ask after two minutes or so. He's still simmering nicely, but a lot better than when he started out. "First off," I begin, "Emiko _loves _you, you dumb prick. Stop thinking that she doesn't love you, because she does! If she didn't, she wouldn't have taken care of you half as well as she did, and she wouldn't try to protect you from Hiwatari! She drove him away because she's _worried _about you, Daisuke! Second of all, your dad is helping everyone else. Do you think he looks for artwork just for pleasure! It's a thankless job, Daisuke. You don't get paid very much, if anything at all, and no one knows what you do. Do you want to know something, Daisuke? Remember the time Hiwatari disappeared? Do you know what he was doing? He was looking for your father because he _knows _that he's the source of information for us! Your dad risked getting hauled in for aiding and abetting a known criminal just so that we'd be able to seal artwork away! Grow up and think about that, Daisuke! They did it all for you! Kosuke threw himself in front of Hiwatari in that van when Krad took over and he took the full impact of that energy ball! They all did. They all risked everything for you and you just can't be bothered to see that!" Taking a deep breath, I stare at him. _That's got to be the longest speech I've ever made in my life_, I think to myself. Daisuke stares at me wide-eyed, completely bowled over by my vehemence. I told you I'm charismatic.

"Stop gawking," I tell him shortly. Suddenly, without warning, he throws himself into my arms and starts sobbing. For a moment, I'm stunned into silence and shock, but then my arms come up and wrap themselves around him. Shutting my eyes, I allow myself to indulge in the fantasy that he does this on a regular basis. Without the tears, of course. Then I remind myself sternly that dreams should be left as dreams, and besides, he's got a lovely/physical/ boyfriend who can satisfy his every whim better than I ever will. He looks up at me with teary red eyes and I smile, ruffling his hair. "Come on, little rabbit," I tease him gently, "Don't be like that." He sniffs and little and gives me a watery half-smile. My breath catches in my throat and I lean forward just a little before catching myself.

I have never claimed to know my host inside-out, and at this very moment I am glad. I despise lying, even when it is mere exaggeration, for he surprises me once more as he grabs my shirt and jerks me downwards. I'm not going to lie; it's a clumsy kiss. His mouth slips off mine and leaves a moist trail across my jaw whilst I end up kissing air. We pull away and I chuckle quietly whilst he gives me that little crooked smile of his again. This time, it doesn't infuriate me; it rather…turns me on. Still, no matter how hot under the collar I am, no matter how much I want this, I refuse to do anything with him until he gets that business with the Hiwatari sorted out. "Daisuke," I whisper. "What about Hiwatari?" I then cringe at myself for sounding like the hero of a cheesy romance novel. Come to think of it, this whole scenario's just like one, isn't it.

Daisuke laughs freely and I wonder fleetingly if he was just stringing the detective along. "Were you, Daisuke?" I urgently ask. Not that I care, you understand. It's just that if he was, well, who was to say that he would not do the same thing to me in the future? "Were you just stringing him along?" The laughter dissolves in a sort of gurgle and his eyes widen.

"I…I don't know." He lowers his eyes, ashamed, and I guess I've pushed things too far. Still, I can't bear the thought of sharing my Tamer with the detective, especially when we despise each other so, and so I turn against my instincts, even though I know they're honed from over three hundred years of thieving and avoiding the Hikari.

I shut my eyes, but before I return to the recesses of Daisuke's mind, I tell him, "Make up your mind." His little crooked smile appears fleetingly on his face for a split second before he buries his face in his hands and sobs once more. This time, I don't do anything, for I, too, am close to tears.

If you tell anyone about this, I swear, I will hunt you down and kick your ass. Shut up already…no, I don't care! Wipe that smile off your face, now!

* * *

Heh, hope you liked this one. Thanks to the one person who reviewed the last chapter; I guess it didn't really come up to par, huh? Well, I hope this one tickled your fancy more, and remember guys, please review, as I would really like to know what you liked about this one-shot. Thank you for finishing this part and reading the whole collection (if you did); it really means a lot to me. Thank you for your support, and please review!

NB: The bit at the end is Dark telling the reader (a. k. a YOU) to not laugh at him, pretty much. I just thought that it would be fitting after everything he's said, as he's constantly trying to be a tough guy.

Believe it or not, I actually have another chapter already finished. However...it shouldn't be coming out until September. You're free to guess when. So until then, see you guys! Thank you for reading and please leave a review!


	13. Four Seasons

**Four Seasons:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: Aw man.

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapter, I'm glad to see that so many of you enjoyed it. This is just a little piece on the four seasons and the changing nature of Dark and Daisuke's relationship. Call it a tribute to all those 'Seasons' drabbles/fics out there if you will. Enjoy!

**

* * *

Winter: **

The room was quiet and dimly lit, as the only source of light came from the window, which revealed the scenery outside to be covered in a blanket of white. The trees were now just brown, oddly shaped sticks, poking out of the ground here and there like so many skinny scarecrows. Although the ground was covered in white, the sky was a beautiful shade of pale blue and completely cloudless, its cold starkness accentuated by the watery sunlight.

"ACHOO!" Daisuke sneezed and groped around blindly for the box of tissues Towa had so thoughtfully placed on his bed. "A-A-ACHOO!" He sniffled miserably and rubbed at his eyes as tears leaked profusely out of them. Groaning, he shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a cool spot on the bed. Dark watched him from the recesses of his mind, praying fervently that their link did not automatically pass the cold to him too.

The Christmas holidays had just started last Friday, and everyone, Daisuke included, had been looking forward to the prospect of being able to sleep in on a regular basis. However, the poor redhead's system had collapsed as a result of too many all-nighters and nightly escapades, and so he was now confined to bed.

Two days had come and gone since, and Daisuke had not heard from any of his friends. No one had bothered to call him, seeing as they were all either too busy basking in the pre-Christmas glow or enjoying themselves in far-off exotic lands. On the other hand, Daisuke probably didn't need the extra Christmas cheer, seeing as Emiko had recently pinned up thick ropes of tinsel and bells all over the house, and the little singing Santa on the doorstep was audible to anyone within a five metre radius. Added to this, when her 'poor little Dai-chan' had fallen ill, Emiko had immediately taken it upon herself to festoon the bed with red and gold ribbon and now the piece of furniture resembled something out of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Daisuke had been shocked beyond words when he'd woken up to discover that the bedposts were covered in poinsettias and as for Dark…well, Dark was flabbergasted at the amount of work Emiko had done. Truth be told, he was a little jealous of Daisuke for having such a wonderful thing to look forward to and the Kaitou didn't mind the decorations one bit.

_Daisuke, are you better today? _The thief asked amusedly. At first, he had found the entire situation to be hilarious and harassed Daisuke about it to no end, but now he was bored out of his mind. It wasn't as though he could play video games, or even go steal anything when his host was sick now, was it? He didn't get a response though, seeing as Daisuke was preoccupied with trying to stop the tears leaking out of his eyes and blow his nose at the same time. _Ew, Daisuke, use a different tissue, will you? _The thief pretended to retch.

-Shut up, Dark,- Daisuke groaned in response before flopping down onto the bed and twisting around irritably.

_Say, Daisuke, it's been three days. Shouldn't you be getting better already? _Daisuke resisted the urge to pull the covers over his head and howl, seeing as the noise would bring the whole house upstairs and the action would be useless anyway. The redhead gritted out something along the lines of, 'Shut up' once more and rolled over, finally stopping to stare at the wall. Dark, for his part, wondered why Daisuke was so cranky.

Luckily for everyone in the house, the cold only lasted for two days longer before easing up, and Daisuke was soon back to his normal, cheery self, much to the secret relief of the entire Niwa household. Who would have thought that Daisuke would be the most disagreeable patient of them all?

"And remember, Dai-chan, you mustn't take off your coat until you get to the mall," Emiko cautioned her son as he stood just next to the door, pulling his shoes on. "Otherwise…"

"I know, I know, I'll get sick again." Daisuke quickly beamed at her and rushed out of the door and slamming it shut behind him. Emiko looked at the door for a while and then sighed, smiling fondly. A little blue egg lying on the table caught her eye and she groaned in dismay. _He's forgotten to bring his hand-warmer out…again. _

Daisuke reveled in the smell of winter and the feeling of snow giving way under his feet. It was the first time he had really been able to relax in the snow since he'd become sick, which served to increase his delight. Throwing himself down into the snow, he laughed happily as he rolled around in the white substance. He wasn't worried about catching a cold; despite the absence of his hand-warmer, he felt incredibly warm thanks to the many layers of clothes he was wearing. Dark, on the other hand, despised winter. He despised the cold, he despised the wetness of snow and most of all, he loathed the way everything was covered in a blanket of white. Natural colours, he felt, were infinitely preferable to the bleak blue-white of winter.

_Oi, Daisuke, _he grumbled, _can't you just get to the mall already? We need to get food if I'm going to be around for dinner too. _Daisuke ignored him, content to stay in the snow for just a little while longer.

-Stop being so grouchy, Dark,- Daisuke thought in response to the thief's remark. –I thought you liked Christmas and the snow?-

Dark rolled his eyes. –I like Christmas, yes, but I don't like winter. Why can't we spend Christmas in the Bahamas or the West Indies? Or even in the Sahara? At least it's warm there.-

The redhead had to laugh at this; the thief's tone was akin to that of a child's whining. –If only your fan club could hear you now,- he gently teased the other. Dark harrumphed in response, not at all amused by Daisuke's antics.

_Please, _the Kaitou whined. _We have to get to the mall. Besides, I'm hungry. _To emphasise his point, Dark projected an image of himself as a puppy sitting in front of an empty food tray, but this only increased Daisuke's amusement and drew a laugh from the other. After another few minutes of bugging Daisuke, Dark finally got his way and the redhead set off for the mall once more. Sticking a hand into his pocket, he felt around in it to make sure that the list was still there. Unfortunately…

"Oh no!" Daisuke collapsed on the ground, wincing at the mere thought of his mother's face when he arrived home and asked her for another list.

_It's okay, _Dark soothed the other, although he himself was also dismayed at the prospect of a delay. _You can call her from the supermarket, right? _Daisuke brightened up a little at this and beamed in delight.

-That's right! Thank you, Dark!- The thief sighed and shook his head amusedly, resigning himself to the growls of an empty stomach for a while longer. In the end, he mused, the dinner would probably taste twice as good as it would have if he had instantly received gratification. Not that he didn't enjoy the 'pre-dinner' entertainment, of course.

**Spring:**

Dark raced across the roof, one hand wrapped securely around the ivory statuette. The crisp spring breeze rushed across his face and blew through his hair as though to spur him onwards. Behind him trailed the inept police force, fanning out as they poured through the door. Dark chanced a look back and felt a small stab of disappointment as he noted that the Hiwatari wasn't anywhere to be seen. –Dark, watch out!- he heard Daisuke before something small and sharp grazed his jaw, a few centimeters away from his pulse. He looked down in shock and saw the object of his thoughts standing on the floor below him, holding a blowgun to his lips. A feeling of wooziness overtook him and he fell from the ledge. _Wow…that's good poison._

Daisuke was shocked at the turn of events. He had been admittedly wondering why Hiwatari-kun had not immediately showed up on the scene, but when he felt the dart graze him, he knew exactly who had shot it. He felt Dark's form-his form-falling through the air before it landed with a spectacular crash and dots danced in his vision. Before he had time to process the pain in his head and the accompanying feeling of dizziness, he felt himself rising up again and he knew that With had come.

Back home, Dark was fussed over and babied to no end. Normally all the extra attention would have pleased him, but this time he was tired of it. He was irritated at the fact that he had allowed the commander to catch him out and as a result he was snapping and snarling at everyone. Even Towa, who had done nothing more than offer him a glass of water, had received a scowl and a muttered curse for her trouble. Daisuke, on the other hand, was appalled by Dark's lack of manners. He was used to the Kaitou's sulks and hissy fits, but taking out his frustration on everyone around him was going too far.

-Dark,- the redhead sternly said. –Stop it.- The thief responded with a mental image of a rude hand gesture and a snarled expletive. Sighing, Daisuke slammed his other half back into the confines of his mind and transformed in front of everyone. Crimson eyes fluttered open and he stared somewhat uncomprehendingly at the spoon in front of his face. "Uh, mom?"

Emiko silently offered him the spoon, eyes silently telling him to drink the liquid. He shoved the spoon into his mouth, made a face at the poorly disguised bitterness and lay down once more. "Thanks." Dark didn't say anything; Daisuke could feel him. He was currently curled up in a corner of his mind, brooding upon his carelessness and poking absent-mindedly at the cut on his neck, where the dart had grazed him.

The next morning, Dark was still stuck in his black mood. The hard knot of frustration that had been formed the previous night was still present, and as a result Daisuke wasn't happy either. The knowing smirk Hiwatari gave him did nothing to improve his mood and so the day passed in a black fog.

Frankly, Daisuke was annoyed. Dark was _still _brooding over his little slip, and for some odd reason, the cut on his face _still _hadn't healed. It was almost enough to make him grab the thief and give him a good, hard shake and then a lecture. –Dark, stop it. You're starting to annoy me, too.-

_No one asked you to interfere, _Dark snarled back in annoyance. It irked him to no end that he should be brought down in public by such a primitive device.

-Dark.- The purple-haired teen continued to ignore his Tamer's calls, choosing to wrap himself in a blanket of his own depression and annoyance. A prickly blanket, but preferable to the outside world. Well, to him, anyway. –Dark.- Without warning, Daisuke appeared before him and the thief groaned, knowing that he would never get any peace now.

_Daisuke, get out, _he grated. _Now. _

-Make me.- The other stared at him challengingly, red eyes fierce. In one hand he held a box of Band-Aids and in the other, a tube of antiseptic cream. The scene might have been funny at some other point in time, if it weren't for the fact that Dark recognized the expression on Daisuke's face as being one which he only used when he was extremely determined. –You are going to sit here, and you are going to let me bandage you up, and you are going to tell me exactly why you are so agitated. Comprende, amigo?- Dark didn't respond.

Sighing, the redhead knelt down next to his other half and gently wiped the cut with a cotton bud and some rubbing alcohol, again produced out of nowhere. He bandaged the cut with minimal fuss and sat back to examine his handiwork. Dark, for his part, was surprised. It was the first time Daisuke had ever done such a thing, usually preferring to leave him to his own devices. _What do you want?_ Dark half-grumbled. _I'm bandaged up now, you happy? _Daisuke shook his head, eyes grave.

-Why are you so grouchy? Things like this have happened before, why are you so agitated now?- Dark rolled his eyes and growled, hoping that his Tamer would back off for once. However, Daisuke was persistent when it came to his friends, and Dark found himself gazing into crimson eyes. –Just tell me, please?- Daisuke's lower lip quivered and the purple-haired teen was tempted to hug him, but he didn't.

_Get off! _Dark pushed Daisuke off brutally. _Look, it's my business, okay? If you want to be a good friend, leave me _alone. At the look in Daisuke's eyes, Dark felt even more like a monster. He just wanted…gods, he was a mess. He didn't even know what he wanted anymore!

-Dark.- Daisuke sat down in front of him and hugged him lightly. –It helps to talk.-

_Cut the counselor crap, we both know it sucks, _Dark dryly said. He felt the younger one shrug underneath him and sighed, knowing that even if Daisuke had to stay comatose for eternity, he would worm the story out of him eventually.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, just sitting there. Neither of them had been very big on hugs and touches, but at this point it seemed appropriate. Besides, that was what friends were for. _I guess…I guess I was just mad that I got caught by such a simple device, _Dark whispered finally. He felt the other shake in his arms and looked down to see Daisuke laughing. _Hey, it's not funny! _He defended himself, but he was starting to feel a little better. Just a little.

-Why now? There isn't a deeper meaning, is there?- Daisuke looked at him worriedly and Dark shook his head, feeling a little embarrassed at how trivial the incident was.

_No, there isn't. I told you, I was annoyed by the fact that a blowgun put me out of commission when all those hi-tech toys didn't. _Daisuke nodded thoughtfully, and Dark continued. _It's like being the smartest in school, but being ranked as the lowest in exams because you were careless. _The redhead shrugged and then smiled.

-But you're all right now, aren't you, Dark?- The thief nodded.

_Yeah, I guess. _To his surprise, he found himself hugging the other once more. As Daisuke looked up at him with happy crimson eyes, Dark felt his ears get just a little hot. Blissfully, the other didn't notice and the Kaitou was glad when he disappeared.

**Summer:**

It was a hot, sunny day, the very epitome of summer. As a treat for the students and a way to relax after end-of-year exams, the school had decided to take all the classes out for a day. Each class picked a place in Azumano, and they would spend the day there. Daisuke's class had chosen the classic idea: the beach. Unfortunately, Class 5A had submitted their forms first and thus they were forced to pick another option, namely, the aquarium. It was a fairly new one, but no one had gone on account of its opening being right in the middle of exam season.

So here they were, standing in the lobby, gawking at the pillar of fish in the centre of the room. Apart from the usual blue and green décor that most aquariums seemed to favour, there were large, life-sized models of fish dangling from the ceiling and hanging from the walls, and the building was structured so that as one descended, he was treated to the sight of the different types of fish at that level of the ocean. There was also a walkthrough tunnel for the sharks and many types of exotic fish, so that one was literally surrounded by aquatic creatures of every size and shape.

-So that's why everyone said it was so impressive,- Daisuke thought. The architect who had designed the structure had certainly put a lot of effort and imagination into the task. –It's really beautiful…-

"Daisuke, is there anything inside this tank?" Risa pointed at the glass barrier in front of her and frowned lightly. "I can't see anything, but Riku says she can!" The redhead hurried over, blushing at being called over by his crush. "See, there are supposed to be five leafy sea dragons in here, but I can't see any of them?" Daisuke frowned at the tank. Indeed, all he could see was the copious amount of kelp floating around in the tank. There was no sign of a living creature within. Then he caught sight of a beady, yellowish eye. Moving downwards, he saw that the animal had cleverly attached itself to one of the stalks of seaweed and blended in perfectly.

"Look, there." Daisuke's finger hovered just a centimeter away from the glass, pointing directly at the little sea creature. Then another left its anchor and floated up, its fin moving furiously. "And there!" Risa's eyes widened and a smile appeared on her face. She beamed at Daisuke, completely unaware of the effect she had on the other.

"Thanks, Daisuke! I wouldn't have found it without you!" Riku rolled her eyes in exasperation and sighed. Blushing, the redhead darted away before he could change into Dark.

_Tch, how disappointing. And here I was, hoping that you'd let me have some fun too. _Daisuke fairly jumped at Dark's sudden comment. _Well, _the thief continued mildly, _I suppose coming out in public is too much for me, even._

-Mhm...- He responded absently as he looked at the next exhibit and yelped at the sheer ugliness of the thing.

_That thing's gotta hurt, _Dark commented as he looked at the bloated, spiky toad-like creature perched on the rock. Its hideous, bulbous eyes stared at the world and Daisuke shuddered at the thought of even having to see the thing. Dark snorted. _What, scared of a toad? _The redhead hastily moved along to the next glass tank and stared fixatedly at the little jellyfish, fascinated by their lack of organs. Truth be told, part of his training had involved an obstacle course and a bucket of toads, and…well, he'd never been quite the same ever since. Dark picked up on this and his ears perked up right away. _You are! You're scared of toads! You're not afraid of the Commander, but you're afraid of toads! _He would have continued, but he was too busy cackling and trying to catch his breath.

Daisuke flushed and fidgeted, feeling like a child. He was embarrassed at the fact that he was acting so childishly in front of Dark, who was obviously so much more mature and so much more capable than he himself was. –Great,- he thought miserably to himself. –Now I'm going to look like some sort of overgrown little kid whining and sobbing.-

_Do you have to be so hard on yourself? _Dark questioned. He found it amusing that Daisuke was so scared of toads, but even he knew when enough was enough. _It's fine. _Of course, the thief didn't say anything about his own phobia of cockroaches for fear of being laughed at. _You're fine. Don't worry about it. _A series of ear-piercing, glass-shattering shrieks filled the air as a group of girls arrived at the toad's tank and Daisuke could feel the Kaitou in his mind shrug carelessly. _See? _The redhead only groaned in response and pushed him to the back of his mind, vaguely wondering since when Dark's opinion had mattered to him so much.

"Sorry, I need the bathroom. Excuse me," Daisuke hastily said as he dumped his bag on the chair next to Risa and took off. He took off down the long corridor and crashed into the bathroom just in time to avoid a transformation sequence in the middle of the aquarium.

-Dark!- He wailed to the thief in his mind. –Stop it!- Thanking whatever deities were responsible for his warning system, he focused on an image of Riku, praying that the Kaitou would respond and he would revert to his usual redheaded, somewhat petit form. Luckily, the system was still somewhat intact, although Daisuke noticed that it took him two minutes to actually awaken the love genes within Dark instead of the customary half-minute. Making a mental note to examine the issue more closely, he walked out of the bathroom, ready to enjoy himself a little more before returning home.

The warm summer breeze floated in through the window. Emiko had decided that it was a beautiful night, and therefore the evening meal should be eaten outdoors. As a result, the whole Niwa family was sitting outside on the lawn, laughing and talking all the while. Only Daisuke was silent, preferring to converse with Dark or listen to what the adults discussed. _Hey, Daisuke…_the Kaitou let his voice trail off.

-Mm?- Daisuke looked up from stuffing his face, concentrating on Dark. Everyone else ignored him; they knew the look in his eyes when he was talking to Dark all too well by now.

_Do you…do you sometimes wish you could…you know…_

-Eh?-

_You know…_Dark hesitated as though afraid to let the next few words spill out. He sighed when Daisuke blinked and stared into space, obviously not getting the point. The piece of shrimp he was gripping firmly in his chopsticks swung limply before falling back onto the plate to rejoin its fried fellows and still the redhead stared blankly. _Hey, Dai-chan, your dinner's getting cold. _The thief had evidently decided that whatever had been bugging him was not worth the time and now, if not before, the redhead's curiosity had been piqued.

-Fine, but you have to tell me later.- Adding a pair of watery eyes and a trembling lower lip for good measure, Daisuke happily tucked into his fried rice. Of course, his innermost thoughts, the ones that not even Dark was privy too, were roiling. He wondered what the Kaitou had to say to him, seeing as there were few things Dark left unsaid once he began. –I wonder…-

Daisuke snuggled down into bed, pleasantly drowsy from dinner. Luckily, he had finished all his homework earlier on in the day, so for once he could enjoy a full nine hours of sleep instead of the customary six. _Daisuke…_The redhead groaned and sighed; he was exhausted from the day's earlier events, but at the same time he knew that Dark probably would not tell him anything if not now.

-Yes?-

For once, Dark sounded rather crestfallen and Daisuke felt a stab of guilt run through him. _Daisuke, it's something that's been on my mind. _Well, in truth, it was an inaccurate statement; this something had been on his mind for a long time. He knew that he should tell Daisuke when the redhead was feeling a little less woozy, but this way, should his Tamer take the revelation badly, he would be able to pretend that he'd said something else and chalk everything down to the other's sleepiness. _I…_ Dark trailed off again, wondering whether anyone had ever felt this bad before a declaration of love. _Um…daisuki. _

-Yes, I'm listening Dark.-

The thief wasn't sure whether to cry or burst out laughing hysterically. Screwing up the dregs of his courage and taking a deep breath, he whispered the word one more time. _Daisuki…_ Crimson eyes widened in shock, all traces of drowsiness vanishing like a puff of smoke in a Force Ten gale.

-What?- Daisuke fairly shot upright at this and he shook his sleep-hazed head. Of course, this meant that Dark took the surprised exclamation the wrong way and quickly vanished, effectively blocking his host out. –Dark!- Daisuke shut his eyes and visualized himself standing in front of Dark. Within moments he was there.

-Dark!- The thief groaned and shifted as though he intended to turn away, but for some reason he stayed rooted to the spot, eyes unblinking and face blank. For someone who had just used up all his courage and whispered a declaration of deeper feelings, he looked relatively normal. Daisuke flushed at the memory and carefully moved closer. –Dark?- He asked a little more softly. –Did…didyoumeanthat?- He blurted out. There was an awkward silence and then silently, almost reluctantly, Dark nodded.

Daisuke didn't know what to say. On one hand, he felt oddly warm inside, but on the other, he was a little afraid. –Uh…- he stuttered, unsure of what to say. It seemed cruel to leave Dark without saying a word, but at the same time, there was nothing he could say that might not be taken as a rejection. Heaven alone knew how fragile the human psyche was after such a trial.

-Um…uh…-

_It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I know. _With those words, the thief made as if to disappear once more, but Daisuke caught his arm and held onto it, eyes determined.

-No!- He fairly shouted into the recesses of the place. –I…I just need some time to think…- Dark hesitated and then nodded, eyes sad. On impulse, the redhead leaned up and carefully pressed a kiss onto the other's cheek. –Sorry,- he whispered as he disappeared, leaving the Kaitou alone to his midsummer night's dreams.

**Fall:**

He nimbly wove his way through the tripwires and the grid of laser beams criss-crossing the floor. The red light illuminated the whole room and threw shadows into stark relief, and Dark was tempted to admire the grace of his own shadow for a moment before he returned to the task at hand. However, Daisuke was already close to throwing a fit owing to his, 'Catch me if you can' challenge to the good Commander, and thus he was not allowed to stop for fear of a mind-boggling scream that would ring in his ears long after the screamer had closed his mouth.

It was Halloween night, the perfect time to steal the Skull of Souls. A creepy artifact reportedly found in some European catacomb, it was reported to have a penchant for stealing its owners' lives and souls. Personally, Dark thought that the museum curator had been lucky to have the thing in his possession for four years without suffering anything bad so far. Smirking at the object, he looked up as a flash of lightning lit up the sky and a roll of thunder followed. The Skull grinned up nonchalantly at him as though daring him to lay a finger on it. Being a thief, and having set his heart on adding this particular piece of work to his vault, Dark snipped the security wires around the thing and carefully placed it into his bag. _Easy as pie, see? _Daisuke scowled and muttered something darkly under his breath, to which the Kaitou only chuckled in response. He was in a good mood tonight.

"Heigh ho, heigh ho, back home with Dai I'll go…" he sang under his breath as he launched himself out of the window. Of course, that was before his good mood was shot to pieces by the appearance of one mentally-unstable blond who liked to go by the name of Krad. _Daymn, _he groused, _hold on tight, Dai-chan. _

Krad didn't bother making any snide comments this time; instead of waiting for his opponent to show a sign of anxiety, he threw a bolt of energy at the other, timing it so that as soon as Dark turned around, he would be helpless to dodge. The blond Angel watched on in sick amusement as the purple-haired teen's body arched up almost gracefully before plummeting down to the sea, With unable to withstand the shock.

Dark stared at the grisly burn in shock and hissed as he saw the waves rushing up to meet him. Shutting his eyes tightly, he braced himself for the impact. He wasn't disappointed.

Krad hovered above the spot where Dark had fallen for a while longer, hand raised in case the thief should resurface. Satisfied that his enemy would not reappear as he had done so many times before, the angel returned to the museum.

Dark didn't know how he managed to return home, apart from the fact that With had been forced to carry him like some awkward, heavy package. He did know, however, that his stomach and torso felt like someone had driven a steamroller with spikes over him and then dumped a boatload of hydrochloric acid on the open wound. Or in this case, salt water. Cursing Krad and his own stupidity, Dark winced as he looked at the sand and grit in his wound, acquired from crawling across the beach in a feeble attempt not to be washed away by the night tide. Well, it didn't matter any more. He was safe now.

-Uh, Dark?- Dark blinked. –Um…I've been thinking.- At first, he didn't know what Daisuke had been talking about, but then an image flashed into his mind. Daisuke, standing in front of him, eyes unsure, voice wavering. Flush on pale cheeks, smile absent. Him, regarding the other with a sad glance, afraid to show any other sign of emotion for fear of misunderstanding. A midsummer night's dream, neatly tucked away in the corner of memory's shelf, something that should have been but wasn't.

_Hn. _He wanted so badly to fall asleep, but he couldn't. He knew that this might well be his only chance to find out what was on his host's mind, and after all, he had been the one who started the whole thing. So he may as well finish it. _Yes? _He struggled to keep his eyes open, but it was too difficult. The warm bed and the comfortable sheets lured him into sleep and for a moment, he felt Daisuke's hand ghost over his forehead.

-It's all right,- Daisuke said quietly. –We can talk tomorrow. Sleep.-

_No! _Dark struggled to stay awake, struggled to keep his mind focused in that meeting place where he and Daisuke could stand in front of each other without having to worry about the body issue. _I…_

Daisuke sighed as he watched Dark struggle. –Look, all you're going to do is end up hurting yourself even more because you didn't rest up. It'll be better for both of us in the long run.- It wasn't as though he wanted to wait; he feared that he might lose the nerve to make a confession to Dark. However, it would hardly be fitting to make one when said object of desire was just about ready to drop of exhaustion. –Just sleep, okay?- He stepped over to his other half, who was swaying dangerously, and right on cue caught him. Sighing, Daisuke shut his eyes and thought of a bed where he could place Dark's spirit form to rest. The wanted piece of furniture appeared and the redhead flushed when he realized that he would have to spend the night with Dark, as the thief didn't seem like he would let go of Daisuke any time soon. Groaning slightly under the weight, Daisuke carefully tucked Dark in and huddled under the sheets.

Next morning, Dark slowly blinked and looked at Daisuke. He was in what he privately called the 'Mind Dimension', where he and Daisuke communicated face to face, without a mirror. The thief shifted, taking care not to apply too much pressure on Krad's little gift and turned to look at Daisuke. He slowly reached out to gently brush a wayward red lock and sleepy red eyes opened to meet him and although he knew that he was invading Daisuke's private space, his hand continued to move until the red strand was tucked behind an ear. "Morning," Daisuke whispered. Then he paused as though debating with himself, one hand firmly wrapped around Dark's wrist to prevent him from leaving. "D…daisuki," he finally managed. Dark was stunned. The redhead quickly jerked his hand away, twisting the blankets between his fingers. "I…I mean, I understand if you didn't wait…I just…I thought…" He trailed off.

Dark slowly pulled the other towards him and let a small smile cross his lips. "Well," he whispered in the younger one's hair. "I was going to…but you're difficult to work out of my system." Daisuke chuckled and hugged him back.

Endnotes:

You might wonder why I started off with winter instead of spring as people seem to like doing. This is because winter can be said to represent platonic friendship. Spring represents the beginning of both their crushes, summer their ripening and developing, and fall the actual receiving. Autumn is harvest season, after all.

Both proantagonists have two seasons each. Although this entire story is written in the third person, I'm trying to narrate Dark's/Daisuke's perspectives. I know it looks like Daisuke doesn't really know what he's getting into, but he's obviously going to be less easily swayed, seeing as he still has issues with Riku and Risa to contend with, so I tried to make that a part of this story too.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfic, and thank you for getting here. Thanks for your support, and don't forget to leave a review on the way out! Thank you very much, and I hope to hear from you soon! 


	14. Ears

**Ears:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel or Loveless.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, references to intercourse, AU.

A/N: I was just reading some Loveless fanfiction and was reminded of this idea, which has been lying dormant in my mind since I watched the anime. It's not really a crossover, more like an AU type thing…you'll get it when you read. My exam results just came back and my birthday's on the 26th August (four days from now) so I'm a happy person. So I bring to you this little piece as a 'before I go back to school and have no time to write' piece. Enjoy!

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The sun's rays filtered into the room through the cracks in the curtains. Although thin, they were directly on Dark's face, making him groan and turn over uncomfortably. He was a night owl; not a morning person. Sleepy amethyst eyes peered at the digital clock on the bedside table, which read 7:40am in bright red numbers. Mumbling under his breath, the purple-haired man rolled out of bed and stretched before stumbling into the bathroom. He had a job to go to.

Dark looked around the apartment, noting that his roommate was not yet home; a surprise in itself. Usually his friend would make it a point to be home by five at the most, and if he was staying at someone's house, he would always call. Of course, this could be very inconvenient, especially when the call came at, say, three in the morning. Dark frowned lightly before shoving a piece of toast in his mouth. _Oh well, _he thought. _Daisuke's a big boy. He can take care of himself now. _

Dark and Daisuke met in their first year of high school and became fast friends almost immediately. Nobody knew what the punk saw in the teacher's pet, but the novelty of such a friendship soon died down and their friendship melted back into the network just like so many others. They'd graduated together and been separated for four years as they both pursued degrees, then met once more at a party in San Francisco. They'd found that nothing between them had changed and six months later, Daisuke packed his bags and moved in with Dark.

The purple-haired man's tail twitched as he ate breakfast, curling around the chair leg at points as his ears moved around. Just as he was about to finish his toast, the doorbell rang. Dark almost choked and walked quickly over to the door, hastily chewing and swallowing the bread. A quick glance through the peephole told him that Daisuke was home. The man flung the door open, tail waving slowly as he felt irritation at the redhead build up. "Daisuke!" There was different about his roommate, Dark knew, but he couldn't tell. His tail twitched as he scowled at the other. "Where were you?" The redhead hastily flushed and then looked away. Then Dark saw the difference. "Oh my God."

Daisuke's head jerked up and he quickly walked forward to comfort his friend. "Dark…" he started to say, but was cut off by the other.

"We'll talk about this tonight," the purple-haired man quickly said. He drew himself up with a dignity one rarely saw and then walked back into the living room to grab his bag and coat. "See you, Dai." He rushed out of the door without another word, slamming it shut behind him. Daisuke stood there, stunned for a moment before sighing and placing a hand on his forehead.

Dark growled and slammed his foot harder on the gas pedal, causing the little Mitsubishi to shoot forward on the freeway. His ears and tail twitched agitatedly, normally merry purple eyes now narrowed and icy. _He lost his ears. He lost his f---ing ears. _Glaring at the jay-walking pedestrian, he slowed the car and impatiently waited for him to cross. Fifteen minutes later, on the Bay Bridge, Dark ran into a traffic jam. A very big traffic jam. He groaned and rested his head on the steering wheel, knowing that nothing would move for a good forty five minutes at least. _Oh joy, _he thought sarcastically. _I'm late. _

**Daisuke:**

Daisuke reached a hand up to run long fingers through his hair, ignoring the whispers and giggles from most of the female staff. It felt odd without his ears, even more so when he had had them just yesterday. He was somewhat relieved that they, along with the tail, were gone, but at the same time he missed them. It felt strange not having them after so many years, although admittedly his co-workers would not try to hook him up anymore. The memory of Dark's face upon seeing him, though, made his heart sink just a little and he wished that he could have explained. Sighing, he turned once more to the computer and glared at the hash of files that made up LyrenCo's client database.

**Dark:**

"Shut up," Dark moaned as Krad smirked and tugged his ear. He swatted at the offending hand, only to find it resting on his tail. "Get off!" He slapped the other man, who merely grunted. "Screw you, Krad."

"Oh, so you want to lose your ears now?" The other asked, arching an eyebrow. "I'll have to ask Satoshi about that first, though," he laughed. Dark groaned and buried his face in his arms.

"Lay off," he growled half-heartedly. "And get your grubby paws off my tail before people get the wrong idea." Krad quickly withdrew his hand, wiping it on a napkin with exaggerated disgust. Unfortunately for Dark, the phrase 'lose your ears' reminded him all too sharply of his roommate and he cringed at the unfairness of it all. Granted, he had received many offers to lose his ears, but all the same…well. He wasn't going to dwell on it forever. He swilled down the last of his wine and stood up, determined to be cheerful. "Well, then I'll see you, Krad," he shortly said before leaving. He missed the pensive look on the other's face as he left.

The businessman stretched, amethyst orbs straying towards the clock on his desk. It read 7:15pm and Dark sighed in relief. _Thank God, _he thought. _Fifteen minutes left. _However, his report was still unfinished and it was due in two days' time, and his 'in' tray was groaning under the weight of still-unread documents. "Guess I'll be working overtime," he thought before leaning over to pick up the phone. However, his hand froze as he remembered Daisuke's current state and after a moment's thought he returned to work, leaving the phone untouched.

**Daisuke:**

There was no one in the apartment. A wave of disappointment rose in his throat and Daisuke slowly walked into his room, readying his things for a shower. Dark wasn't home yet; a rare occurrence, for his friend liked to be home at 7:30pm whenever it was possible. The redhead rinsed himself off, again shaking his head a little when his fingers ran over the spots where his ears used to be. Part of him was sad at Dark's obvious disapproval, but the other part of him couldn't care less. He was legal now, anyway, so what was there to stop him from losing his ears? Besides, almost half the class in university had lost their ears already, so there was really no harm in his losing them now. Or so he kept telling himself.

He stepped into the shower and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to finally wash off the dust from the streets and the sweat from his 'night out'. Whilst he had rinsed himself off in the hotel room, a hurried shower was no substitute for a leisurely one that was sure to relax the muscles and wash all the dirt away. Crimson eyes focused on the cream tiling as the redhead wondered how to explain the loss of his ears to Dark.

As he stepped out of the shower, he caught sight of his left shoulder in the mirror and stared for a moment before flushing deeply. It was a hickey, a dark one that looked like it would take a week to fully disappear. He prodded the mark, his face turning even redder as he remembered just _how _he had acquired it.

Dark entered the apartment, noting with some relief that Daisuke was already home. The sound of running water caught his ears and Dark quickly changed his direction, heading for his room. He didn't know whether he wanted to see Daisuke just yet, especially knowing at least part of what had transpired during the LyrenCo party. Then the purple-haired man shrugged to himself, smiling wryly. _I sound like Daisuke's mother now, _he thought, _worrying about him like that. _

Daisuke walked out, wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. "Oh, hi Dark!" He smiled a little awkwardly, a hand at the back of his head in that familiar gesture. However, this caused the other side of the shirt to slip, revealing a pale shoulder. Which had a hickey on it. Dark stared at it, images of an unknown mouth lapping at the pale skin flashing through his mind. Heat coursed through him, hot, jealous heat. "Dark?" Daisuke was next to him in a flash, one hand on his ear and gently stroking the furry body part. "Are you all right?" The businessman turned to face him and Daisuke hastily backed off, thinking that Dark was angry at him.

"It's nothing," the amethyst eyed man answered brusquely. "I made dinner. Let's eat."

The meal was a tense affair, neither one willing to say anything that would set the other off. Daisuke, however, did not like the silence and as he reached for the fish, carefully asked, "How was yesterday evening?" There was an ominous pause.

"Quiet," Dark finally replied. "I read a little and finished up some documentation. Yours?" He snapped his mouth shut as soon as the word came out, knowing that the answer would only irritate him further.

Daisuke paused for a moment, obviously thinking the same thing as Dark. Then he said slowly, "It was nice. I met a lot of people." He ignored Dark's pointed look at the top of his head, and the swishing tail that almost certainly meant that the other was annoyed. He could just hear the other's unspoken comment: 'Oh, I bet you did.' Daisuke continued, doggedly avoiding naming people. "Someone fell into the punch bowl, and Kotoe-san was very angry." He smiled weakly, hoping it would lure Dark's laugh out. "Turns out the punch was spiked…but I didn't drink any of it!" He hastily added. Dark's eyes only narrowed further as the amethyst-eyed man processed the information.

"Meet any nice girls, then?" The question was obviously asked in sarcasm and Daisuke felt his hackles rising. He chewed deliberately slowly for a moment, letting Dark stew.

"Yeah," he replied nonchalantly. It was a laconic answer. Dark didn't ask for names, and Daisuke didn't offer any. The tension continued to grow, looming over the pair like an invisible monster.

Dark finally snapped. "Huh. Did you have a nice time warming someone's bed, then?" Daisuke didn't say anything, but his trembling hands were enough. The older man rushed on. "I bet you did, you've even got a hickey to prove it. Who was it?" He asked with a sneer.

Daisuke slammed his chopsticks down onto the holder violently. "What does it matter to you?" He hissed angrily. "Why do you care? It's not like it's any of your business what I do with my time, is it? You're probably just jealous because you haven't lost yours yet!"

Dark's tail was now swishing violently and his ears were flat against his head, a sure sign of animosity from the amethyst-eyed man. However, a bark of harsh laughter escaped his throat. "Keep telling yourself that," he said icily. "And I care because it's not exactly a good reputation to build up, Daisuke!"

"Who cares? The clients? My co-workers? The university students? Most of them have already lost their ears, Dark! It's just you who seems to be making such a big production out of things!"

Dark didn't know why he was so worked up about Daisuke's losing his ears. After all, wasn't it the redhead's own decision. Still, he was determined to stick to his opinion to the end. "I thought you said you were going to save them for someone." Daisuke laughed bitterly, much to Dark's surprise.

"Maybe I just got sick of waiting," Daisuke shortly snapped. "Maybe I just didn't want to wait any longer."

"You can't just say—"

"How would you know?" Daisuke barked, crimson eyes flashing dangerously. "Have you ever had to wait for anyone?" At the look in Dark's eyes, he rolled his own derisively. "No; didn't think so," he sneered.

At that moment, the phone rang, causing the two roommates to turn around and glare at it. Dark silently walked over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Dark." It was Satoshi.

"Yah?" With another venomous look at Daisuke, Dark leaned casually against the wall with the phone in his hand. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. So the deal came off?" He grinned, glad to know that his hard work had paid off. "Say, why don't we go out to celebrate a bit? You know, hit a couple of the classier bars, meet a few…no? Aw," he joked, pouting. "You're no fun." Satoshi's caustic reply, however, caused him to pause.

"I don't think you can say that when you haven't even lost your ears yet, Mousy," the blue-haired man commented. "See you." The phone clicked and Dark turned around, sore from both the argument and his friend's comment. _If only he knew what I'd been doing before I got the call, _he thought wryly. _Talk about karma. _

Daisuke was standing in the middle of the living room, away from the dining table. He ignored his friend's presence, choosing to stare intently at the building opposite theirs. It was clear from his body language that he had not yet forgiven Dark, and in a way Dark hadn't backed down either.

Both had a night to stew in their thoughts, Dark wondering why he'd gotten so worked up over Daisuke's ears and the redhead wondering why he'd been so bent on justifying himself through insults and shouts. Neither slept well, but of course they both pretended that they had in the morning.

The redhead took a vicious sort of pleasure out of yanking Dark's furry appendages for the next two days, more so than usual. He used to tease the businessman gently about it, but now his insults were barbed and more calculated to sting. "It's nice to see some of us are so moralistic," and 'He's saving himself for that special someone,' were only two of the things he said in public when ladies approached his older roommate, causing them to titter.

Krad sighed at the sight of Dark, huddled up in his apartment scowling at the flashing pictures on the television. "So that's what, the fifth time you've come here?" The blond asked, hanging his coat up as he approached his friend. "Fight with Daisuke again?" Dark had told him all about the fight, albeit unwillingly, and ever since then the purple-haired man had stayed over every time he got into an argument with Daisuke. The blond wasn't happy with this; it meant no 'alone time' with Satoshi, but he very well couldn't leave a friend out now, could he? "Maybe you should talk things over," finally said. "You can't hide out here forever."

Dark scowled. "I told you," he said shortly, "I'm looking for an apartment." Krad nearly tripped over the rug; he made a mental note to tell Satoshi to get rid of the blasted thing; and whipped around.

"What?"

The businessman groaned. "I'm looking for a new apartment. Daisuke and I talked it over, and we decided that it's obviously all for the best. We're getting on each others' nerves too much, and it'll help us sort things out on our own." _Talked it over my foot, _the blond thought darkly. Of course, he very well couldn't say that out loud, so he chuckled instead.

"You mean Daisuke kicked you out," he dryly replied. Sighing, the blond joined his friend on the couch. "I still can't believe that you made such a fuss over his ears though."

"Don't start," Dark growled. He was in no mood for a lecture. Unfortunately, the blond had never seen fit to listen to him, despite the flattened ears, the flashing eyes and of course, the bristling, swishing tail. Right then and there, Dark decided that Satoshi was a bad influence on Krad.

"In any case, why _are _you so worked up about it?" Krad's eyes were now staring into the distance, and Dark flinched. _Oh no, _he thought, gearing himself up for another of Krad's analytical and all too often boring lectures. "How about we hypothesise, Dark?" The blond leaned forward, golden eyes glinting with evil and suddenly he looked like the predator he'd been when trying to trip his blue-haired lover into bed for the first time. "How about…Dark-san's _jealous_?"

Dark leaned casually back, avoiding that piercing gaze and trying to look nonchalant. "Been there, heard that. And it's not true," he added shortly, hoping he sounded bored.

"What about if I said you were jealous of the one who took Daisuke's ears?"

"That's a new one." Krad chuckled, truly amused now. He never did quite lose that sadistic streak.

"Yeah, well, we all know De Nile's just a river in Egypt," he added cheerfully, emphasising 'De Nile' in particular. "But," he added, face now serious and devoid of any traces of Schadenfreude, "he said he was tired of waiting, mm?" Dark snorted.

"It's none of my business. Go find out yourself."

Krad feigned shock. "Oh? Suddenly it's none of your business as to _who _he was waiting for? Please, Dark, use your brains."

The purple-haired man stood up abruptly, irritation written clearly in every line of his form. "Shut up," he told the other brusquely. "This isn't one of your shoujo manga, nor is it a Meg Cabot romance novel. I'm just concerned about Daisuke."

"Please," the other snorted derisively, "you must be joking. A one-night stand never did anyone any harm, provided they followed safe-sex rules of course."

"F--- off," Dark snarled before walking out the door. It was clear that he wasn't wanted there, so why should he stay any longer? "I'm leaving."

His blond friend waved casually. "See you then. It was nice having you over for a chat." The purple-haired businessman didn't bother replying, as it was clear that Krad could not care less about the whole conflict.

Daisuke inhaled deeply, shooting looks over at the door every now and again. His roommate still had not come home, and truth be told, he was little worried about the other, even if he was still annoyed about the whole ears affair. _He's probably just at Krad's, _he told himself firmly for the fifth time before glancing at the clock. _If he doesn't come home in half an hour, I'll eat first and he can re-heat his own meal. _Sighing, the redhead drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, wondering where his friend was. He'd forgiven Dark and long time ago, but he was unwilling to say sorry when it wasn't even his fault to begin with. He'd never believed in the motto, 'Say sorry even when it's not your fault'. The doorbell rang, and Daisuke smiled a little at his friend's absentmindedness before remembering that said friend was currently not happy with him. Sighing, the redhead stood up to open the door.

Without a word Dark stepped in, his coat flaring out behind him in a dramatic arc. He barely glanced at Daisuke before walking over to the table and pulling a chair out with a resounding screech, which caused the redhead to flinch. He hated the sound of the legs scraping against the floor, not to mention the scratches that were caused by such an act. The younger one was tired of this now; he just wanted to go back to having a normal life with his roommate, being able to joke around and talk to his best friend whenever he wanted to. "Grow up, Dark."

The man slowly turned around, amethyst eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"I said grow up." Daisuke's voice came out strongly, his eyes calm and confident. "Get over it. I've lost my ears, and they're not going to come back." The purple-haired man sat there silently, staring at the redhead accusingly, but he ploughed on doggedly. "Why is it bothering you so much?" His friend, instead of standing up and shouting defensively, bowed his head lower and stared at his knees, brushing at a piece of lint that refused to go away. The silence stretched on, lingering and growing like some awkward entity that didn't know what to do with its life.

Dark chanced a look at Daisuke and his breath caught as he realized just how much he wanted his friend back. He didn't want to fight anymore and he certainly didn't want to argue anymore. "I guess…I guess I was just in a bad mood that night." Krad's little speech from earlier on in the evening came to the forefront of his mind, but he pushed it down. _Say what you like, Krad, but that doesn't make it true. _He refused to entertain the memory of his crush on Daisuke when they had first started living together, shutting his eyes subconsciously to prevent himself from looking at the redhead and noticing how striking and innocent he looked, even without his ears. "I don't know. Just leave it, okay?"

Daisuke was silent for a moment, red eyes downcast. However, he was quietly relieved that Dark wasn't shouting at him anymore, and he finally seemed to have gotten over the whole ears issue. "…All right then," he smiled at the other, knowing how difficult it was to get Dark to admit that he was wrong, even indirectly. It was as close to an apology as he would get out of the other man, anyway. He walked over to the dining table and sat down, picking up his chopsticks. The least he could do, he felt, was to start acting normally again. They'd both been dodging each other for far too long now. "Itadakimasu!" As though nothing had ever happened, the two began to eat.

They re-watched Dark's entire collection of 'Without a Trace' and CSI: Miami, finishing the night off with one of their shared guilty pleasures, Weiss Kreuz. It felt just like before, Daisuke happily noted as he made a grab for the popcorn again. He was, however, leaning across Dark's lap now, hands vainly reaching for the blue plastic bowl. "C'mon, Dark, give it to me!" He begged, laughing as the other shifted the food out of his reach.

"I will, baby, I will," Dark jokingly promised, his voice husky. At the sound of his voice, though, Daisuke felt himself flush as he realized how awkwardly he was positioned over Dark. The purple-haired man blinked and looked at him closely, ears twitching lightly in curiosity. The dark tail snaked its way up and poked the redhead's cheek, denoting its owner's curiosity. "Eh, Dai-chan, what's up?" Daisuke felt himself hardening and he quickly backed off, not wanting the other to feel him. He briefly wondered whether the loss of one's ears and tail meant an increased libido before hastily grabbing the pillow behind Dark's back and clutching it. Not only did this serve as a way to hide himself from the other's probing gaze; it also allowed him to divert the man's attention. "Oh no you don't," the other mock-growled beforelunging forward-and pressing himself flush against his embarrassed roommate.

Daisuke squirmed away, panting slightly. Then he remembered. He reached a hand out…and gently tugged one of Dark's furry ears. True to form, the man dissolved into a purring puddle of goo and he immediately sprawled out over the couch, rubbing his face against Daisuke's chest and purring for more. The redhead blushed as he felt himself harden further and desperately tried to call images to mind in order to banish his…condition, but the noises his older roommate was making were too much for him. He didn't know how long he could keep up the pretense; it was only a matter of time before Dark pressed up against –that- part.

Dark nuzzled Daisuke's chest, purring happily at the way the other was scratching his ears. Then he felt something hard poking at him and he shifted, thinking that it was just the remote control. However, at the soft gasp from Daisuke, another, dirtier suspicion came to mind. He swiftly ground down a little harder, and as expected the little redhead gasped and flushed more darkly, clutching the pillow more desperately. Springing up, Dark grabbed the other's chin gently but firmly, forcing the other to look him in the eyes. "My, my, Dai-chan," he whispered softly. "Is that the remote control, or are you just happy to see me?" Both stared intensely at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter at the bad pick-up line, but the meaning was not lost. The noise of the TV blurred into meaningless background noise as they slowly gravitated towards each other and their lips met.

Dark groaned softly into his roommate's mouth, his tail wrapping around Daisuke and pulling the redhead closer. Hands roamed all over the place, neither caring further. The redhead giggled lightly as Dark's furry tail brushed over his side, tickling him, then whimpered as Dark nibbled at a particularly sensitive spot on his neck. The night passed in a pleasurable haze, both roommates exploring each other for the first time.

**Next morning:**

Dark stared at the mirror, unsure of what to do. _Should I run down to the store and buy fakes? _He wondered. _Or should I saunter into work like this? _He sighed once more before rubbing the spots where his ears used to be. A pair of small, warm hands suddenly snaked around him and Dark yelped at the sudden intrusion before leaning back into the warmth of his lover. "Daisuke!"

"Mm," the other hummed into his back. "Leave it. Let them think what they will." Dark grinned at the thought of it and then moaned softly as one of those devious hands moved upwards to rub gently at his chest. "Come back to bed, Dark," Daisuke huskily whispered in his 'bedroom voice'. "They can wait." The purple-haired businessman smirked and let his lover coax him back into the bedroom and show him more delights. After all, who was he to turn down such an offer?

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Note: For those of you who don't know Loveless, it's set in a universe where everyone is born with cat ears and a tail. They lose these parts when they have intercourse (all the way), so everyone's love life is out in the open. Hope this might clear up any confusion.

I hope you guys enjoyed this fic, seeing as I originally didn't plan for my next oneshot to be along these lines. In fact, this new one was supposed to be a sci-fi type and it's all typed out, but it's so badly written (in my opinion) that I decided to make a new one and let you guys have that instead whilst I edit the other. However, you're a lucky bunch; since I have that one and another typed out already, you'll get them fairly quickly provided I don't get bogged down in schoolwork first. Watch out for 'Cassandra' and 'September', coming out soon! Thank you for reading this fanfic, and please leave reviews! See you around!


	15. September

**September-A Tribute:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: AU, sensitive issues (if you can't handle Sept. 11th, stop HERE).

A/N: I have tried to research all these events thoroughly and I sincerely apologise to anyone who thinks that I have made fun of those who suffered or died in this tragic event. I KNOW none of the flights came from Japan and I can't say that I know what the view from any of the airports in NYC is like, considering that I've never BEEN there. All other mistakes are my own and God bless all those who have lost a loved one. Again, apologies to anyone who might take offense at this. If you think that you cannot handle this, I suggest you don't read. Also, this is a repost due to a typo pointed out by a couple of readers; thanks guys; you know who you are. Sorry!

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Dark Mousy always remembered the month of September as being particular. It demanded more attention from him. Why, he didn't know. Well, okay, yes, he did know. However, the reason didn't please at him all, which was why he didn't want to dwell upon it for too long. 

For as long as he could remember, September had always been a month of change for him. It was the month in which he had been born, the month in which his mother had officially moved out and he'd been left with his father. Not that he wasn't shipped back and forth like some present, of course. Many people remembered September as being a special month because it was the month in which they rose a year in school, but not Dark. Oh no, heaven forbid that he ever remember September as being the beginning of a new school term.

Although September was _the _month of change for Dark, there were bound to be incidents which stood out in his mind far better than others, the clearest of which had happened when he was seventeen or so.

He was hanging out with his best friend, Daisuke Niwa, a fourteen-year old. He'd moved to Azumano just over three months ago, and had immediately caught Dark's eye. It might have struck others as odd that a senior would willingly pair up with a high-school student, but to those who knew the whole story, it certainly wasn't. After all, it wasn't every day you met someone who you felt an immediate kinship with. Heck, the first time Dark and Krad had met, the whole school had been privy to the mother of all prank wars, and now the pair were close friends.

Daisuke looked up at Dark from his perch on the fence. "Dark, what's up?" Dark shook his head.

"Nothing much," he said shortly. It had been a beautiful day; the leaves were just starting to change colour and as a result the trees above were a myriad of green, red and gold. Still, he didn't feel happy, as he normally did. It felt as though there was something on his mind, but he didn't know what. There was an empty sort of heaviness in his gut, the feeling he got whenever he forgot something but didn't know what it was.

Daisuke looked up from the strings of his guitar, eyes concerned. "Dark?" He asked. "You can tell me anything, you know. I won't mind." Dark nodded absently, examining a leaf that had fallen in front of him. The two sat in silence for a while, one absorbed in his study of the leaf, the other in his music.

He remembered every single detail of that September's day, right down to the sound of the Tower clock as it chimed three times. Daisuke looked up, eyes warm, arm casually draped over the body of the guitar. "Dark." Said teenager turned around to look at him again.

"You're never this quiet," the redhead said. "Why don't we go down to the park? There's more to do there." Truth be told, he wanted to cheer his friend up. Dark was rarely this melancholic and as far as Daisuke could remember (well, from the time he spent with Dark since his arrival in Azumano), he had never looked _this _down in the dumps for so long. Giving his guitar a fond pat, he secured it in its case and then stood up. "Come on," he said, holding out a hand to Dark, "Let's go." The purple-haired boy looked at his hand for a moment, then took it and hoisted himself up.

They arrived at the Park in due time, and much to the senior's surprise, there was a carnival going on. Dark was surprised and looked around, baffled as to how something this big could have possibly escaped his notice. "How?" He asked, looking at Daisuke.

The redhead smiled slightly, then dragged his friend over to the roller coaster. "Let's go on that one!" Five minutes later, a pair of laughing, flushed boys came out and Dark seemed to be in a much better frame of mind. Collecting their things from the section reserved for passengers' belongings, they continued through the funfair, occasionally stopping to join the queue for a ride or play a game.

They were sitting on the Ferris wheel, that wonderful contraption which had acted as a catalyst for so many couples. Dark grinned at Daisuke, who was doubled over laughing at a previously made joke. "You're so slow sometimes, Dai," he laughed. Daisuke looked up, eyes still dancing with mirth.

"Hey, look, it's not my fault you can't tell a joke properly," the other defended himself. Dark harrumphed and then looked at his best friend again, enjoying the way the redhead could make anyone cheer up. For a while, just a while, that heavy feeling in his stomach was gone. Then, as he examined the laughing teenager's face more closely, it hit him like a ton of bricks and suddenly that lurching, heavy feeling made itself known in the pit of his stomach once more. _That's…that's it…_Oddly enough, once the feeling of revelation had passed, Dark felt nothing new. It was as though he was looking at something he had known all his life, but never really thought about until now. There were no butterflies in his stomach, no sudden, random impulses. Then again, he was a creature of impulse, so perhaps it didn't register as much with him as it would with any other person.

A jolt as the ride ended, and both boys climbed off, laughing. Without really thinking about what he was doing, or the consequences of the act, Dark leaned forward and gently cupped Daisuke's face in one hand. The fourteen-year old flushed darkly but did nothing to resist the action, even leaning into the touch a little. Or so Dark believed. He leaned closer, allowing his lips to brush over the other's in a butterfly kiss. There was no raw heat, no desperate clutching of clothes, no moaning and certainly nothing remotely akin to acting like dogs in heat. It was uncertain and awkward, what with the difference in their heights and the surprise which took Daisuke. They pulled apart, neither saying anything. Then Daisuke leaned forward and by yanking at the other's collar, he brought their mouths together in another careful kiss.

That was Friday, September the fourth, 1995. Dark remembered everything just as if it had happened yesterday, although in truth it had happened five years ago. He was sitting in his apartment, listening to the television drone on. Irritated with the moronic answers of the contestants in nearly every morning quiz show ('Doesn't anyone know what the capital of Canada is?'), Dark picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, idly surfing. Daisuke was coming to join him in the States, albeit at university. Still, it was in the area and it wasn't as though he couldn't drive over to see him every time. At first it had been difficult getting past the first stage, where awkward questions came up every five minutes, but soon they had settled into a sort of pattern. Although Dark didn't exactly remember when it had started, he soon began to feel…lost without Daisuke. The younger man was an anchor for him, the only stable thing in his life except for those September events. He smiled at the thought of the cheery redhead and then looked at the clock. His plane was soon due.

An hour later he had arrived at the airport and was standing in the waiting area, looking up anxiously at the large clock on the wall every two minutes. Time went by at a sluggish pace and Dark scowled, impatient to see the redhead once more. He glanced out of the large window now and again, hoping to see the plane pulling into the area, but he knew it was useless. A glance further across the field gave him the full view of New York and he could see the Twin Towers glistening in the distance, the sun's rays reflecting off its shiny, polished surface. Suddenly, the phone in his pocket rang and the purple-haired man pulled it out. "Hello?"

"Dark!" His voice trembled with anxiety and sadness and the purple-haired man felt his heart sinking.

"Yes?"

"Dark!" The sound of Daisuke's sobbing over the phone was heard and he frowned.

"Daisuke, are you—"

"I-I don't think I'm going to make it," His voice was quiet, frightened.

"What? What are you talking about?" Dark laughed nervously down the phone, unsure of what to do.

"Listen…there's…oh God, there're terrorists on the plane, they've threatened the pilot…we're heading towards the Twin Towers…Dark please…goodbye. I love you." The redhead dissolved into sobs and Dark's face paled as the line went dead.

"No!" He shouted down the phone, but the action went unnoticed. By now, everyone else was receiving phone calls. The purple-haired young man rushed to the window. To his horror, there was definitely a something heading towards the Twin Towers. As though it were some action movie playing in slow motion, he watched as the plane crashed into the building and flames erupted. He collapsed, unable to say anything more.

It was September 11th, 2001.

**Five years later:**

He stood there, staring through the heads at the strobe lights that marked Ground Zero. His eyes were dry, face blank and emotionless. Around him, people sobbed and leaned on each other for support, but he was alone. The names hummed, just part of the background music for the memorial service. He wanted to scream, cry, sob, do something that would mark him as normal, but he couldn't. He felt empty, numbed. Idly, he wondered whether he was still suffering from shock or denial. He didn't know the difference any more. _There were no survivors._

"Hey Daisuke." The words came out faintly, so faintly that they were lost on the slight breeze. He laughed weakly, swallowing hard and clutching the photo in his hand so tightly that it crumpled under his fingers. "It's been a while." He placed the bouquet carefully on the small marker, smoothing out the wrinkled ribbon carefully, still clumsily clutching the photograph. "I decided to come now…because the service's still going, and it'll be crowded when it's all over." He sat down, making himself comfortable on the grass. As though realizing that he held something else, he looked at the photo and smoothed it out on his lap, trying to erase the wrinkles. It was a photo card, the kind generated by the machines found in arcades and made to cater to girls. "I got your favourite flowers; morning glories, see?" He pointed at the plants. "Remember how you told me they were called 'trumpet flowers' in Cantonese one time, and then that nosy Chinese waiter came over and said your pronunciation sucked?" He continued to talk, trying to drown out the noise of the service, trying to make conversation with the little black stone.

Night had fallen. Dark shifted slowly as his senses awakened once more, and winced at the dull throb in his lower back. Slowly getting up, he walked back to his apartment, his right hand gripping the little photograph in his coat pocket. _I'll come back tomorrow,_ he silently promised Daisuke.

* * *

I'm sorry for the date mix-up, once again, thanks to those who pointed it out. I also edited the end in order to try and make it just a little less cliché. I repeat: I apologise for any errors and I apologise if you found yourself offended (though why you didn't leave earlier does pique my curiosity). God bless those who suffered and died on that day. Before you ask, yes, this is in memoriam. I did not lose anyone, but I feel that those involved on Sept. 11th deserve to be remembered. God bless. 


	16. Cassandra

**Cassandra (Retake):**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, hints of sexual themes and language.

A/N: Terminology, as this is a sci-fi fic.  
**Glider:** Looks like a motorbike without wheels, the bottom a triangular shaped flat base to help it move quickly. Their popularity has declined due to the arrival of Cantor Enterprises' Scythe model, and now they are only used by traffic cops on duty.  
**Droplet: **An enclosed vehicle, the equivalent of a car in today's world. It is sturdily built and easy to control, which makes it popular amongst most sectors in Algidus.  
**Scythe (taken from a game on Cartoon Network and yes, I know I'm sad): **A new prototype that wasn't supposed to make it onto the market. However, the government forced Cantor Enterprises to release the machines early and as a result, they are highly unstable. They are much faster than Droplets and hence it is easier to crash on them. These are highly popular amongst young adults and there are many instances of gangs and are used as race vehicles.

* * *

The folder landed on the table with an audible thump, causing its recipient to cringe in dismay. Detective Dark Mousy of the Cassandra(1) Department for the Criminal Investigation Bureau of Algidus(2) propped his feet up on the table and looked up insolently at his superior, Chief Crane. "What's this?"

"A case," the other replied just as laconically. Dark was about to protest at such a vague response, but the look in the other's icy grey eyes silenced him. Even the draughty office's temperature was warm compared to the look in the other's eyes before he straightened up and walked out. "I expect to hear your plans this afternoon at two, Mousy," was all that the man said. Dark sighed; what more could he expect from someone who was raised in Algidus, the coldest inhabitable region known to Man?

Flipping the manila folder open, he raised an eyebrow at the neatly typed mission orders, a stark contrast from the usually hastily thrown together papers that required fifteen minutes to decipher. However, there was very little information to go on, and he only had a maximum of two months to complete it before the 'higher authorities' i.e. the Pandora Department stepped in. Unfortunately, Pandora was rather aptly named and infamous for their easy acceptance of bribes. Sometimes, Dark wondered what their founder would say if he were still alive to see the thriving corruption in his brainchild. Returning his gaze to the photographs and papers in the pile, he noticed a couple of familiar faces, a chill rushing up his spine at the memories their smirking visages brought back. The final page was a summary and Dark looked it over, nodding to himself. Luckily for him, he'd already formulated a plan by the time he'd finished reading the briefing. Unluckily, it required an infiltration and he knew exactly who would be cast into that role all too well. It was his assignment, after all.

Zephyr glided in at around eleven thirty, dressed impeccably as always. "Morning, Dark," he softly said, smiling and revealing a mouth full of white, even teeth. "How are you today?" His eyes lingered on the manila folder in front of the scowling detective, moving upwards to rest on the glowing computer screen.

Dark smiled back. He liked Zephyr; he was a good kid, just a little dreamy at times. "I'm fine, thanks. You?"

The other man smiled shyly. "I'm good, thank you. Pure black coffee, right?" Dark nodded, grateful for the refilling of his mug. At least it meant that he wouldn't have leave his now decently-warm office and freeze himself to death in the large room that served as the Cassandra Headquarters just to get a cup of hot coffee.

"Yeah, thanks Zeph." The other nodded and poured the coffee out before leaving, the soft smile still on his face. Dark meanwhile sighed and returned to his task. At least he knew more than most about the Seven Sins gang; he'd been part of them once upon a time. He was about to settle back down to work when the man looked in again, shyly telling him that Crane had called a conference about the case. Apparently some new information had just come up from Cerberus(3), saying that the case level had been upped and now, instead of having two months to investigate before Pandora interfered, Cassandra would only have one and a half. _Looks like whatever they found is pretty explosive, _the detective thought wryly as he picked up his papers and headed for the dingy conference room.

He shivered his way through the corridors, the battered black overcoat no match for Algidus' often subzero climates. Finally he arrived at the conference room, nodding at the rest of his colleagues as they all filed in. The computer was already whirring, the screen down and reading, "Mission 414A, Ranking: Highly Confidential" in bold, red letters. Everyone smiled a little; Crane's presentations were always brief and to the point, as shown by the simple title slide.

"Good morning, Cassandra," the man began. His eyes swept over the entire room as though he were a teacher, making sure that all his students were paying attention before beginning to speak. "Zade, sit up," he ordered Dark's partner sharply. The man straightened up, a spark of irritation in his cat green eyes shining through. The purple-haired detective grinned and nudged him, wincing as he was given a sharp rap on the head with one of the chief's numerous flying paper fans. "Pay attention!" The older man ordered.

"Seven Sins are in the radar again," the man began and everyone snorted. The gang practically controlled the whole of Algidus, but of course they had been well out of the reach of the law, what with their bottomless wallets and blackmailing schemes. The Bureau wrote up numerous reports stating all their heinous crimes and illegal activities and were forever talking about raiding their many, well-known hideouts, but of course nothing ever happened. "They're running a human trafficking ring." Impatient silence greeted this announcement and Dark seized the opportunity to make a sarcastic comment. He knew they had been selling people for longer than he'd lived; he remembered a couple of races were some of the better slaves were put up as race prizes.

"However, we cannot just raid their hideouts due to a lack of resources and evidence, so we will infiltrate their organization instead. Luckily for us, they are planning on having a race three weeks from now, so hopefully we'll be able to find out something more about this and hopefully round up the leaders of the ring." Everyone nodded. "As written on the memos you received, Detective Mousy will be in charge of this one. Mousy," he said, turning to Dark. "Pick out five others you want to help you in the practical aspects of this assignment." The amethyst-eyed man quickly looked over the group, a list already composing itself in his head. He recited the names and to his immense surprise, he saw Crane nod in satisfaction. It was rare that the older man ever showed any sign of approval. "I want your plans by two this afternoon. Dismissed." Everyone filed out once more, returning to their respective workspaces to continue.

Orion walked in just before lunch, a stack of papers in one hand, face serene as usual. "God," Dark scoffed, "You're like the bloody Buddha or something. What's with you, man?"

"Here's some more information on the main suspects," the other murmured respectfully, ignoring his superior's comment. "And there is nothing, 'with me'," he added just as calmly. Dark scanned the information quickly, noting that Carrion and Jin seemed to be in charge of this racket as usual. He sighed at the information attached; he knew a lot more about Seven Sins than anyone could ever hope to, at least without joining the gang like he had done. His hand brushed over the old tattoo on his inner thigh, tracing the figure through his pants. "Ori."

"Yes?" If the other hated the nickname like rumour had it, he didn't show it.

"Distribute this to the other three members of the team, will you please? Make sure Teirn gets it most of all; he might have to come infiltrate with me." The brown-haired man bowed and acquiesced, leaving Dark to brood on his plans once more.

**Two o'clock: **

"Here." Dark tossed his notes down onto the table in front of Crane, knowing that his boss would be unable to decipher them. "That's my proposal."

"Chicken scratch," the other man said shortly in return, pushing the stack back. "If that's how you want to handle things, then don't blame me if you all get caught and shot."

Dark laughed bitterly. "We won't get shot; just sold," he replied. He sat down, leaning over his notes and reading the symbols just as easily as if they had been in plain English and neat. "Right, we'll infiltrate the place and cause a bit of a furor. The thing with Scythe races is that there are rarely any newcomers actually _in _the races, and we all know that the police are too scared to try going up against guys who have been riding the tracks since they were ten. So, we'll put an agent up onto the field and then whilst everyone's watching the race, we can get someone else to hack into the computer and nick everything. They're bound to have a laptop there at least; they'll guard their data with their lives."

"Bull."

"I'm sorry, sir?" Dark looked up and amethyst met steel grey.

"I said it's bullsh-t. And isn't it just a little risky sticking someone on a track? Who on earth could possibly _care _about a newbie? They'll eat him-or her-alive." Dark sighed.

"That's the quickest way to do things, sir," he blandly replied. "We can't spend time talking with them, as it's highly unlikely that Seven Sins will let any of their grunts know about their plans. This way, we'll definitely get the information, even if it is a bit riskier."

"A bit? Mousy, you're putting two people's lives on the line! All it takes is just one false move and they'll have all of us so fast, we won't even have time to say hello to Pandora before we're all carted off to the slave markets!"

"That's why I'm going to race."

The older man stopped, caught off balance by the deadly serious tone in the other's voice. He leaned back in his chair before laughing. "Come on, Dark, that's a good joke, but honestly." At the grave look on the other's face, he leaned forward. "Listen, Mousy, you can't just waltz in there. Everyone knows your head has a bounty of twenty million bucks on it as soon as you enter Sins territory. You're notorious among them for leaving; they'll do anything to noose you!"

Dark shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm famous for getting away. I'll live." Crane stared for a moment longer before shrugging.

"Just remember, Mousy," he told the other, "it's your life on the line. I won't stop you, but don't think that I'm happy with your plan." The detective sighed and looked his superior in the eyes, determination burning in them.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would be. But it's the only surefire way to nail these guys without calling Pandora in. We could try to pry information out of one of the top guys, but that wouldn't work as they're all trained to withstand pain and torture." There was silence on Crane's behalf and Dark plunged on desperately. "These guys are organized, sir. Just because they haven't met with any challenges for a while doesn't mean that they're not prepared for them." The other man merely bowed his head and gestured towards the door, a dismissal. Knowing that whatever he said would not strengthen his case in any way, Dark left to prepare.

**1930 hours:**

He strapped on his helmet, tingling with the extra adrenaline already pumping through him. This was the first time in five years since he'd raced in a Scythe, a daunting thought to anyone else but Dark. He looked around the empty training stadium and breathed in deeply, calming himself before stepping into the sleek little racing vehicle. He strapped himself in and then placed both hands on the wheel, feeling the excitement of being able to drive a Scythe once more. Many became hooked on the speed and the risk of driving such a sensitive vehicle, where unnecessary force could easily cause the delicate machine to veer wildly off course. He stared at the glowing controls and counted down in his head, slamming down on the accelerator with all his might when he reached '0'. The Scythe fairly flew down the course and the detective gasped. Apparently, he had forgotten exactly how fast these machines could go as he saw the speedometer needle go from 0 to 230 in just under a minute. He reached the hairpin turn and twisted the wheel, praying that the Scythe would not crash.

Three minutes later, Dark leaned back in his seat and exhaled slowly, trying to control his breathing. Thankfully, he still remembered how to control one and the fact that he had managed to stay alive was proof that Kaitou Dark had not lost much of his touch with Scythes. Now, he could only hope that he would be able to avoid all the dirty tricks that inevitably took place on the racetrack. After all, no Racer liked to lose, and the Sin Racers were no exception.

Time flew by much like the scenery in a Scythe did, with Dark training in the Dirge model intensively. Zade and Crane both complained that he spent more time on the training track than he did in the office, but they both knew that if they wanted the detective to survive and look reasonably professional in front of trained Racers, he would have to do that much work and more. The detective himself was starting to feel the strain of training so hard; his body ached from the many bruises he'd acquired from being tossed around in the Scythe, whilst there was a large friction burn on his upper torso where the safety straps had cut into him. Unfortunately, he knew that speed was only part of the game and that unless he could survive all the tricks that inevitably occurred on the racetrack, he would be dead before he'd finished the first lap.

**Two weeks later, Thursday 1924 hours:**

Teirn blew out a stream of smoke, green and gold-flecked eyes following the progress of the Dirge model. He was no expert, but even he could say that Dark was turning into a darn good Scythe pilot and he'd almost willingly swear that the other must have been trained as a Racer at some point of his life. The vehicle soared over the ramp and twisted in mid-air, landing with a gentle thud on the hard grey tarmac. The machine shot past him again, now on its tenth and final lap, although it was little more than a blur to the man. His mind turned to the mission, now little more than 24 hours away. He was going to be infiltrating the arena as well, but as a spectator of course. The lean man shut his eyes and took another drag of his cigarette, going over the logistics but not finishing them as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Coughing and spluttering, he glared up at Dark, who was still wearing his helmet and Racer outfit. "Sh— man, you trying to drive me into an early grave?" he cursed. His partner shrugged.

"Maybe. No one lives forever." Zade caught the pensive tone in Dark's voice and moved over on the narrow bench.

"Siddown, Dark. You worried or something?"

Dark shrugged and took the helmet off, hair blowing in the freezing winds that swept Algidus at night. "Yeah, about you," he shot back in a half-hearted attempt to conceal his feelings. Zade shrugged.

"You want to go get some coffee? It'll beat sitting in this godforsaken training arena."

"Nah," the other easily replied. "I'm going to stay here and train some more." Now Zade was worried.

"Hey, run yourself ragged if you want, but it won't help any of the kids being trafficked if you join them in the pens tomorrow." With those words, he stood up and left the other man to his thoughts.

**Friday night, 1929 hours:**

"Well well," the obnoxious announcer boomed. "It looks like we've got someone new here!" The crowd booed and hissed, all bent on intimidating this new opponent. Daisuke trembled from his vantage point, as he was closest to the door and dressed in nothing but a pair of ragged shorts. His eyes looked at the lone figure in the spotlight, its head bowed down as though submitting to the taunts and jeers of the announcer. "What do you call yourself then, brat?"

Dark was annoyed by this man's attitude. It was clear that he had no high standing in the Sins and was therefore trying to bully him. He kept his head lowered in order to see as little of the man's face as possible, but when he asked for his name, Dark could not but make a defiant comment. "First off, bugger," he said loudly into the microphone, "I'm of a higher standing than you are for sure. So don't push your luck. Secondly, I don't answer your questions; I only answer to the head honchos up there." He looked up defiantly at the three men sitting on the podium and hid a smirk. "I only answer Carrion, Carcass and Corpse's questions." He smiled at the rage on the announcer's face and continued, rebutting all the other man's jeers and ending the talk with a shuriken, which grazed the corner of the arrogant man's right eye. In the end, he knew that he'd made a good impression on the 'Big Three'.

He watched for the flag, noting that he was in between Greed and Pride's Racers. He glanced up once more at the tiny redhead in the cage; the prize. The white and black checkered flag came down with startling speed and he jammed down on the gas pedal, tearing down the track along with the other seven Scythes.

The first lap went quite smoothly, Gluttony and Wrath taking the lead with the rest clustered behind them. The crowd roared, roared so loudly that Dark could hear them even through his helmet and Scythe. Suddenly the ground _shook _and he hastily moved to the right, narrowly avoiding the now-wildly careening Sloth Scythe. He winced as the machine crashed into the unyielding steel wall, going up in flames and instantly killing the Racer within. _Now _that's _why I don't want to crash,_ he thought with a sort of grim humour.

Daisuke shut his eyes, unwilling to watch the race. He hoped that the unknown Racer would win; he seemed to be the only one with any sort of compassion. Then again, if he was even here, it didn't say much for his personality. A gust of wind blew past him and he shivered once more, squeezing his eyes shut. Then a metallic 'click' sounded in his ears and before he could react, he was being dragged away by a pair of strong but gentle arms. "C'mon," he heard a voice say, "before we're seen." Daisuke opened his mouth to warn the man about the alarm device in his collar, but at that moment it emitted a shrill noise and the whole stadium turned towards the cage. The redhead heard his rescuer mumble a curse and then all went dark.

_Zade, you f---ing moron! _Dark cursed silently as he noticed the audience turning towards where the prize was displayed. He caught a flash of red before his partner disappeared and grimaced before jamming on the pedals. He now had only one objective: to get out of this arena before someone realised that he might well be in cahoots with the other.

A bolt of light flashed past his Scythe as the alarm systems went off, and Dark swore. It appeared that the Sin Racers had caught on and now they were out to get him. He sped towards ramp, smoothly flying over the explosives pit and the wall, although judging from the noise and the way the Scythe plunged, he'd just lost a tailfin. _Come on, _he silently urged the vehicle. _Come on…get me out of here before you explode! _He crashed through the doors and landed on the ground in the cold, cold snow before the whole machine went up in flames. His head snapped back from the impact and hit something hard. Dark saw stars, and them darkness.

Daisuke carefully pushed the door of the room open and peeked in, unsure of what to expect. After Zade had explained that his friend was supposed to create some sort of diversion which was thwarted by the alarm system, the redhead had insisted on seeing the other detective as soon as possible. He wanted to see what kind of person could be that good a Racer and still not be snapped up by the Seven Sins.

"Yo," the man greeted him. Daisuke immediately blinked, caught off guard. "I was wondering when you'd come in. Zade keeps talking about you, I swear I'll kill him if he says your name one more time…" He stopped short. "Sorry," he apologized. Daisuke blushed. "I'm Dark Mousy. You're Daisuke Niwa, right?" He held out his hand, grasping the redhead's smaller one firmly.

"Yeah," Daisuke replied, blushing again when Dark gave him a heartbreaking smile.

"Better now?" The crimson-eyed man nodded slowly, shaking off bad memories that threatened to crowd in. Desperate to avoid thinking about his captors and what they had done to him, Daisuke blurted out the first question that came to mind.

"How come you're so good at racing, but you're not famous or anything?" Dark grinned and leaned over to pat the chair.

"Sit down, you want to hear the whole thing today or in bits?" Daisuke eagerly answered, "All," and the detective nodded. "All right then, but you have to tell me when you're tired. You're probably still a little off from the cold and all, anyway." The redhead nodded and sat down, staring at Dark all the while.

"Well, I was trained as a Racer, my dad was one, see. Except that he was a Racer for the Sins…sorry, does that make you too uncomfortable?" He waited for Daisuke to shake his head before continuing. "So I trained to be a Racer for the same team-Team Greed. At ten, they decided that I was good enough to compete with the big boys and they put me up. I came in second, and then Greed knew that they had something good. I mean, I'm not bragging, but I was pretty good back then. So I just raced for another nine years and all, coming in top for most of them. When I didn't do so well they just locked me up in one of their tiny cells for a whole day-I'm claustrophobic, see-and I…became more motivated." Dark smiled carefully at the other to lessen the impact of his words, knowing that the redhead would have experienced the cells at least once. "Then when I turned nineteen, I contracted Dokugen…the virus, you know?" Daisuke nodded, eager for the story to continue. "Sins threw me out right away and I was pretty much left to die. Then some scout for the government found me and after fixing me up and getting my life story, they put me here. Guess they wanted to have someone who knew the ins and outs of the Sins in the department, even if he was stationed in Algidus." Daisuke nodded, surprised at the matter-of-fact way Dark narrated everything.

"Don't you…um…" Daisuke was afraid that he'd be prying too much, but he did want to know if Dark had any way of laying fears to rest. He still woke up screaming every night, dreaming that he was lying in his cot in the Sins hideout and breathing in alcohol and smoke.

Amethyst met ruby and Daisuke swallowed, hoping that he wasn't bothering Dark too much. The man might be nice, but he could still find the redhead's presence taxing, couldn't he? As though reading his thoughts, Dark waved his hand. "It's all right, I don't need to be treated like an invalid. You want some help with the nightmares?"

Daisuke stared. Was Dark a magician, or a mind-reader, or something equally amazing as well? The man had been a Racer and left Greed without dying, so maybe he was something out of a children's fairytale too. The purple-haired man grinned. "What?" He asked innocently, "I'm a detective. It's my job to find the things that people don't say!" The redhead laughed a little at the confident way Dark said it.

"Um…sure," Daisuke carefully replied. "I'd like to..." he swallowed, "figure out some of the nightmares." Dark nodded.

"It's simple. You can stay over with me when I'm discharged. I'll keep you busy with chores and I'll talk to you and keep you generally busy."

Daisuke stared. "What?" He couldn't believe that someone who'd been a complete stranger to him until a few hours ago was so generous and trusting.

"Aren't you worried that I'll steal something?" Dark gave him a 'don't-be-stupid' look.

"Not really, you don't seem like the type of person to do so."

"But—"

"Yeah, yeah, well, there's nothing to nick in the house anyway. Not unless you like copper pots." The man grinned. "How about it then?"

Daisuke nodded slowly. It wasn't as though he had any better place to go to, anyway. At his reluctant answer, Dark beamed. "All right then," he laughed. "It's a deal. Now, since I've told you my life story, how about you tell me yours?"

The redhead shrugged and looked down at his feet. "I've been there since I was six," he shortly said. "My parents sold me for $59000." Dark didn't say anything; he merely held out his arms like a child, waiting for a hug. Daisuke slowly leaned forward and closed his eyes, hugging the man back.

**Two weeks later:**

Dark was horrified, to say the least. Not because his bed had been re-decorated to sport handcuffs on the bedposts, and not because of the sudden increase in his supplies of lube. He was horrified because his new 'roommate' wanted to pay rent…with his body. As a result, Daisuke was now sashaying towards him in nothing but a terrycloth bathrobe. The detective felt sick to his stomach and hastily backed away from the man in front of him, swallowing hard. "Daisuke, what are you doing?" he asked calmly.

"It's okay," the other said quickly, although his eyes told a different story. "It's…it's just a thank you. For rescuing me and everything." Dark yelped and batted the redhead's hands away from his shirt quickly.

"Who said you had to pay rent?" he demanded. "Did I? If I did, you'll have to remind me because I don't remember!" He flinched at the frightened look on Daisuke's face. However, the other remained stubborn and moved forward, nibbling on Dark's neck and placing one of the older man's hands on his bare chest.

"Please…Master…I have to pay you back somehow…"

Dark moved away at the word 'Master', exhaling quickly. "Daisuke," he asked carefully, "were you…?" The other nodded and dropped his gaze, disappointment and sadness evident in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I don't please you, Ma—"

"I'm not your master," Dark shortly said. "Go put on something decent and then we'll talk about this later." He moved forward to quickly hug the other. "Hurry up now, it's cold," he said. The redhead swallowed and quickly ran for the room, leaving a frowning detective behind. Dark and Daisuke spent that night talking, the elder trying to convince the other that he was welcome to stay as long as he helped with the housework and other things.

It had been two weeks since 'the incident', but Dark was still uncomfortable. That night had made him sit up ad take notice of Daisuke in a _very _physical manner, but it had also made him rethink his treatment of the redhead. Indeed, his 'roommate' was filling out quite nicely and the detective had caught himself staring that the other more than once, wondering what it would be like to touch the other. Groaning, Dark rested his head on the keyboard, ignoring the jumble of letters that sprang up on his screen and the look that Zade gave him.

"I'm home," he called into the apartment carefully. As usual, Daisuke was stretched out on the easy chair, dressed in one of his much-loved oversized sweaters and a loose pair of cargos, both thick and warm. Dark swallowed hard, feeling a wave of _want _rush over him and he stared at the redhead for a moment longer. Ironically, the gesture was lost on Daisuke.

Dark glared out at the sky, shivering slightly from his place next to the window. His fingers clutched spasmodically at the paperback novel in his hands as he curled up more tightly on the sofa. A sudden weight draped itself across his shoulders and the detective looked up, unsure of what to say when he looked into warm crimson eyes. "Thanks," he mumbled out before staring at the page again. A hand reached out and plucked the book from his hands, turning it around and then depositing the object back into his lap. Dark blushed as he realized that he had been holding the book upside down for the past hour or so since dinner. "Thanks," he whispered.

Daisuke stared at him for a moment longer before slowly straightening up again, already looking back at his warm chair. The detective hesitated for a moment before nodding decisively; he would have to sort this out sooner or later. "Daisuke." The other whipped around and Dark patted the space next to himself on the couch. "Sit here. It's warmer. And we can share the blanket." There was an awkward silence and the redhead slowly retrieved his book, hesitantly sitting down next to the other. To his surprise, the detective draped the blanket over both of them before turning back to his own book.

It was one o' clock in the morning, but neither man wanted to sleep yet. Daisuke was surprised at how Dark was behaving; first the man had distanced himself after his…acts and made it clear that he wasn't interested in sexual pleasures. Now, he was sharing a blanket with him and sharing the sofa with him? It didn't make sense. Swallowing hard and half-hoping that the purple-haired man was asleep, he gently nudged the other's ribs. "Dark?"

"Yes?" _D-mn, _Daisuke thought.

"Uh…why are you doing this?"

"Because I feel like it."

"Oh." With nothing more to say, the redhead quietly leaned against the other, pretending for just a moment that he was in a solid relationship with the other, instead of one that was just about as stable as a rowboat. As he drifted off to sleep, his mind seemed to unlock itself and he dreamily thought, _He's accepting me. He's trying to say that…that he doesn't care any more. _The next morning, the thought was gone, departed on the frigid winds that swept across Algidus, but in its place was something new that neither man could place.

* * *

1: Cassandra: A prophetess who always spoke the truth, but was never believed. I used her name for the department because they are the most honest, but never believed due to the corruption going on in the upper echelons of CIBA.

2: Algidus: Latin for 'cold'. I think.

3: Cerberus: The guard dog of the Underworld. I chose this to show that the people working in that department are lower ranking and do a lot of grunt work i.e. maintain the computer servers, keep hackers out etc.

I know that this story is more ambiguous than the others in this collection, as it's never really stated whether Dark and Daisuke get together properly or not, but I was going for that effect. Besides, you got your yaoi scene, didn't you? This is my first foray ever into anything remotely resembling sci-fi, so I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review for this one especially, as I'd really like to know what you thought of my first shot at this genre. Thanks, and see you at the review board!


	17. Musical Interpretations

**Musical Interpretations:**

Disclaimer: How to explain…let me count the ways. DN Angel is not mine, I do not own DN Angel, DN Angel does not belong to me, DN Angel is not owned by me, DN Angel by me is not owned…do you get the point?'

Warnings: Nothing that hasn't already been mentioned.

A/N: Thanks for supporting the previous fic, and thank you for pointing out that crucial error (cringes). Guess I should just stick to little random plots, huh? Well, anyways, here's the next one-shot!

* * *

The soft notes of the flute floated through the room, carried out into the city by the wind. The bare tree branches swayed gently along in time with the music, soft 'whooshing' noises accompanying their movements. The tune lilted gracefully, whirling through the room and bringing with it visions of a gentle winter, one that consisted of snow gently covering houses and trees and painted the entire city white.

"Hey Dark." The tune continued, the merry notes responding to the greeting. "How are you?" His music continued, running in scales, fingers moving rapidly up and down the instrument to press the keys. His visitor sat down next to him, opening his schoolbag and pulling out a thick stack of paper. "Here's your homework."

The notes fell into a diminuendo, still merry but now more subdued. The other laughed. "You wish." Then the player's eyes lit up, and the tune grew slightly louder, quicker, rather like an expression of a number of ideas. His classmate's eyes narrowed slightly and he shook a playful finger at Dark in warning. "No, you _can't _say you have a concert." The tune fell again, now in a minor key as the player glanced at him balefully, fingers moving over the notes with the ease of long practice.

Crimson locks waved in the breeze, some streaked by the rays of late-afternoon sunlight that fell through the large windows. Smirking, the player began to mimic the strands of red that blew around the redhead's face. Up and down the music went, playful and in a major key. As the breeze left, the tune slowly softened, finally ending on an E-flat. Then the other chose to break the pause. "You played really well at the concert, Dark." The flute trilled a long, elaborate tune as though showing off, then fell into a minor key and stopped for a beat's rest on an awkward sounding C, waiting for the other's response. "No, you didn't," Daisuke defended quickly. A quick trill came in response. "No, you didn't." The redhead insisted. Another quick trill; this one lasting longer than the previous one had.

"Hmph." Daisuke crossed his arms, eyes determined. "No, you didn't. Sensei was so proud of you at the end." The notes faltered, then came out a little more hesitantly as though questioning the other's statement, wanting to believe but not daring to. Sensing victory, Daisuke pressed on. "Her face was glowing!"

A soft E whistled from the flute, like a sigh of defeat. Then the flautist looked up at his companion and the music became lively and playful once more. Daisuke listened for a moment before blushing. "I am not! I'm just telling you the truth!" A playful arpeggio was his reply. "I am _not _proud about it!" A series of intricate notes followed, playful and lilting. "Don't laugh!" Dark's shoulders shook in silent laughter as the music continued, becoming faster and faster until all the notes had merged together, distinct yet indistinct. The redhead blushed and looked away.

"But Kowada-sensei gave you extra Maths homework to make up for your missing class," Daisuke quickly said, trying to divert the other's attention from his victory. "And we learned a lot today." Another diminuendo, this one contained within a series of long, mournful notes played in a minor key. "And Jameson-sensei wants us to write an essay on 'Frankenstein', which we discussed today. In _class_," he added smugly. The notes dragged on, each one lasting longer than a semibreve. The mournful tune continued. Then it suddenly rose again as Dark thought of a new idea, somehow conveyed through his music to Daisuke.

The younger boy glared fiercely at his classmate. "No, you most certainly can not!" The notes rose in a major key once more, Dark now playing a quick Irish tune, the music sounding somewhat like laughter. Daisuke smiled and laughed along with his friend's flute. As the music rose to a sharp crescendo, the flautist's fingers fairly flew over the keys, ending on a high B. He held the note for eight beats and then slowly lowered the instrument from his lips for the first time since Daisuke had entered the room.

"Any requests?" He even managed an awkward bow from his sitting position on the bed. Daisuke shook his head laughingly.

"How about the one you made up for Music?" He asked teasingly. Dark groaned, looking up at his friend.

"You're never going to let me go, are you?" He asked. Daisuke shook his head cheerily in response.

"Nope!"

"Didn't think so." Then he brightened up and grinned at Daisuke, causing the younger boy's breath to catch in his chest. "Hey, how about this tune I composed a week ago? I actually spent time improving this one." The redhead nodded slowly.

The melody was jagged and surprisingly hard for something that came from a classical instrument. Although Daisuke knew that Dark liked rock, he'd never thought that the other would try composing something like that on an instrument so obviously meant for a completely different purpose. The notes hurtled downwards speedily like a roller coaster before suddenly shooting straight up to a high G without any warning. He felt as though he was in an elevator whose wires were broken, being jerked up and down by people who had no concept of smoothness. In fact, it was just like his mother's driving some days. Just as abruptly as it had begun, the tune suddenly fell into the minor key. Daisuke immediately thought of a story his mother had once told him; a soul, desperately searching for the way home. If he remembered correctly, the ghost had been doomed to wander forever, lost in a haze that showed him the same places over and over again no matter which path he took. The haunting melody slowed came to an end and Dark looked at the redhead expectantly.

"…It's interesting." Daisuke didn't know what else to say; he felt that there was something strange about the eerie atmosphere that the flute had created in the latter part of the music. Dark seemed somewhat miffed that he hadn't given a more coherent answer, but of course it did not show on his face. Instead, he began to disassemble the flute, his motions snappier than usual.

"You're always saying that." Dark didn't respond, continuing to take his flute apart and put the pieces in the correct parts of the case. Daisuke sighed and slowly reached out to run a hand over the flute.

Dark smiled and pulled the stack of paper closer, sorting out the English sheets and carelessly tossing the rest onto the desk. "Hey, concert's over," he shortly said, probably irritated that he didn't get to show off as much for once. He turned to the worksheets, whistling between his teeth. Daisuke recognised the tune as being from Smetana's piece 'Vltava', named after the river that ran through Eastern Europe.

The redhead didn't move from his seat, choosing to sit and watch the other tackle his homework. "Stop staring."

Daisuke shrugged and leaned back. The older boy sighed and then leaned over to grab the flute case by its handle, opening the box and quickly snapping all the parts together. Running a quick hand up the instrument to ensure that nothing was loose, he placed the silver object to his lips and played a few notes. Daisuke sighed at the reproachful tone that the music seemed to take and closed his eyes. "Do your homework," he told the other wryly.

A questioning set of quavers prodded at his ears, demanding to know why he wasn't starting on his own work. Daisuke smiled sweetly and replied that he had no homework, owing to the fact that most of it had taken the form of finishing class work. A furious chord, held for four beats, greeted this announcement, purple eyes glaring balefully at him. "See, that's why you shouldn't miss school," Daisuke teasingly pointed out before clapping his hands over his ears as yet another, higher-pitched chord slammed into his auditory senses.

**Next day:**

Daisuke swallowed hard as he walked towards the instrument. Around him, students chatted happily, discussing teachers, homework and classes during the fifteen-minute break. He sat down on the worn stool and stared at the dusty keys of the piano. Pressing down on one of the keys carefully, he sighed as he noted that it was slightly out of tune. However, he was determined to try at least for the sake of becoming accustomed to having people around him once he played. After all, he didn't want to suffer stage fright on the night of the concert.

The first few notes sounded through the canteen (1). From the back of the hall, where most of the Year 11s were gathered, a murmur rose and added to the swell of voices in the room. Satoshi raised an eyebrow, recognizing the style immediately, and casually walked over to the piano. Leaning on the top of the instrument as though he were a singer, he looked down at the player and raised one fine eyebrow in a silent question.

"So Risa was telling the truth," he remarked casually. Daisuke's shoulders hunched further, but his fingers continued to glide over the keys without faltering. Satoshi didn't wait for an answer and continued. "Is that the piece you're going to play at the concert?" Daisuke quickly ended the piece and looked up at Satoshi, smiling.

"Yeah," he admitted with a light blush.

"For Dark?" Daisuke squirmed uncomfortably as the tips of his ears too began to turn red, and the blue-haired boy had to suppress a sigh of amused exasperation.

"Satoshi!" The redhead stammered out. The other rolled his eyes and tapped his long fingers on the piano. After all, he had never been one to beat around the bush, and his bluntness had become infamous amongst the juniors.

The other rolled his eyes, then let out a small gasp as a shadow loomed over them both and a pair of arms encircled Satoshi's shoulders from behind. "Ah, so you're the musician stealing my beloved's attention," Krad drawled. He looked at Daisuke for a moment before nodding in stately approval. Satoshi, meanwhile, blushed at the attention he and the other were getting from the people around them. "My compliments to your playing," Krad continued. "Good luck." With those words, he swept off, leaving Daisuke sitting at the piano.

**Chemistry:**

"Hey." Dark threw his bag carelessly onto the floor and flopped into the chair next to his lab partner. Leaning over, he draped a casual arm over Daisuke's shoulders and leaned in closer to the redhead. "'Sup?"

"Mm." Daisuke gave a little noncommittal shrug. "Just thinking."

Dark grinned. "Careful; you might spontaneously combust." The other took a half-hearted swipe at him, which he easily avoided. Seeing that his friend was not going to leave him alone, Daisuke sighed and finally deigned to look at the other.

"How'd your prac (2) write-up go?" He asked. Although going to Dark's house with the intention of staying past dinner thanks to the other's mother extending a warm dinner invitation, he'd left the house immediately as soon as the other tried to kiss him instead of finishing off his homework. The other obviously remembered this incident; in reply he scowled and rifled through his bag furiously, finally pulling out his battered Chemistry binder. He flipped through the numerous sheets of paper, finally selecting what was obviously a report and shoving the entire thing into Daisuke's face. He triumphantly held up his finished homework, whistling a few bars of 'Too Bad' for added emphasis. Daisuke sighed and rolled his eyes, not daring to hum the tune of the song that came to mind in response. Dark grinned roguishly and leaned in even closer.

"You know you want to," he murmured softly. "Dare you to move."

To the other's dismay, Daisuke did move; to the empty seat in the bench with Krad and Satoshi. "Hey!" Dark protested. The other merely shot him a look and busied himself with his papers. The purple-haired teen sighed, not noticing that he was heating the alcohol instead of the acid.

BANG.

"F---!"

"Holy crap, what was that?!"

Heads whipped around to find the source of the explosion, eyes resting almost immediately upon the sheepish-looking flautist. He was currently examining a shattered, smoking test tube. A stopper lay on the table too, rolling around aimlessly inches away from the rest of the equipment. Daisuke stared in shock, then hurried over as the teacher reached the workbench. "Oh yes," the teacher called cheerfully over the babble of voices as students commented on Dark's experiment, "Don't stopper your test tubes." He looked down at the experiment, an amused smile playing about his lips and then sighed. "Clean it up," he mildly said before continuing to patrol the room in order to ensure that no one was doing anything wrong.

By the end of the day, Dark was indeed more than ready to return home. Looking around, he spotted Daisuke and Takeshi talking together near the lockers. He approached them quickly. "Hey, you guys want to take a taxi home together?" The pair looked at him for a moment before Takeshi shook his head.

"Nah, I have to pick my sister up. See you!" He walked off, leaving Daisuke and Dark together.

The older teen looked at the redhead, eyebrow raised. "Want to come over?" He asked. "I need some help with English anyway." Daisuke paused, looking sorely tempted, but shook his head once more.

"Sorry Dark," he explained. "I have to go home to work too."

"You can work at my place," the other offered. Truth be told, he just wanted an excuse to be around Daisuke, and the fact that he _did_, for once, need help with his homework was just an auxiliary factor. The redhead teasingly whistled a few bars, finally leaning in to peck at the corner of the taller boy's mouth. He turned away, blushing at his sudden actions, and then walked…back home. Dark sighed. _Dang. I knew I couldn't win._

"Dai, you've been practicing for over an hour now. Are you sure you don't want something to drink?" Emiko called. The music paused as Daisuke shouted down the same reply he had been using since forty-five minutes ago. The woman sighed, but her face brightened up as the tune began once more.

The doorbell rang. As usual, Emiko ran to answer it, praying that it wasn't yet another door-to-door salesman. To her delight, it was Kosuke, still dressed for the chilly San Francisco weather. "I'm home."

Emiko hastily grabbed one large suitcase and began heaving it towards the living room, turning around every so often to gaze delightedly at her husband. "Daisuke!" She called upstairs. "Your father's home!" The music abruptly ended in a jangle of chords and the redhead walked downstairs.

"Hey dad." Daisuke and his father's relationship was based more on silence, in direct contrast to the redhead's relationships with his mother and friends. Strangely enough, though, neither seemed to dislike this arrangement, and it was not uncommon for the two of them to sit in amiable silence together. In some aspects, they were actually more like friends than father and son.

"Nervous about the concert?" Daisuke nodded, staring down at his thumbs. Kosuke shrugged. "You know," he casually said, "it's only hard until you get up there. But I suppose it's all right, you not having performed for…seven years?" The redhead nodded. "Mm. Just relax." With those words, he stood up and walked back to his own room. Daisuke sat on the couch for a while longer, oddly comforted by the words even though many had repeated them to him over and over again.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Mousy,_

_It is with great delight that White Crane International School invites you to this year's Christmas Performance, prepared by the school's very own choir and orchestra. Added to this, there will also be solo performances by individual students. _

_  
Date: 14th December, 2008  
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm  
Venue: Chapel Hall  
_

_We hope to see you at the concert for an enjoyable evening. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Matthias Blaine (Headmaster)_

Dark carelessly jammed the invitation into his schoolbag, not bothering to even try and keep it smooth. After all, it wasn't as though his parents were even going to try showing up at the concert, and he didn't think that Daisuke would be likely to need yet another invitation. He sneaked a look at the redhead, wondering where he would be sitting this year. He hadn't gotten so much as a kiss from the other since he'd skipped school, on account of his 'needing to catch up with schoolwork'. _And after I went through all that trouble to compose a piece for him too, _the flautist thought. _Well, no matter; he'll soon be back in my arms as soon as I hand in that French essay…_Then he remembered. The aforementioned piece had been due in three days ago, and Madame Lambert's wrath would surely descend upon his head if he failed to hand it in within a week.

He sat in his room, fingers itching to pick his flute up and play something. The numbers and letters swirled in front of his eyes, forming an illegible code. Dark sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily. Once more his eyes strayed to the sleek black case resting on the bed, its surface glinting in the light, calling to him. Dark couldn't help but liken the call of his flute to that of a siren's.

He ended up playing well into the night, algebra homework long forgotten. He seemed to feel unusually musical tonight, he noted as his fingers danced along the length of the silver instrument, the pattern familiar to them from months of long practice. It was one of his and Daisuke's favourite songs, after all. Grinning, the purple-haired teen carefully replaced the flute into its case before walking outside, uncaring of the darkness of the streets or the fact that it was 11:00pm. Humming a tune under his breath, he resisted the urge to walk over to Daisuke's house and bawl 'Lady Jane', a tune he knew that the redhead rather disliked in spite of his love for the Rolling Stones. Of course, he would change the words accordingly and pledge himself to 'Daisuke-kun', should the occasion for him to sing to the other ever arise. He shuddered at the mere thought of anything that resembled 'High School Musical' so closely.

The day of the concert drew closer and closer, tension rising as orchestra and choir practices became more and more frequent. In fact, just a week before the concert, almost all the classes were severely depleted due to the number of students needed for extra rehearsals. Even Dark was gone, Daisuke noticed, looking at the empty seat behind him. Krad, too, had gone; surprisingly enough (or not so surprisingly, considering that his father was a famous opera singer), he was in the choir. He absent-mindedly tapped the tune he'd memorized especially for the concert on the table, the notes ringing clearly in his mind. _I wish I got extra time to practice too, _he thought. _I want this to be good for Dark, too. _He didn't see the look of amusement on Satoshi's face as the blue-haired teen eyed his fingers.

**Dark:**

"Again, from C." The conductor tapped his baton against the podium for silence before raising it once more. He looked at the violinists, noting that all of them seemed ready. Once more, the orchestra launched into a rendition of Vivaldi's 'Spring'. Dark kept his eyes fixed on the music, fingers moving automatically to touch the keys as he lost himself in the music. At the end, the conductor himself nodded and smiled; something that many of the younger musicians swore happened only when Hell froze over. _Well,_ Dark thought wryly, _Hell must freeze over every year at this time. _

Practice continued for another hour before Fukamachi-sensei finally let them go, his eyebrows bristling as he reminded everyone to practice hard, as the concert was only six days away. Everyone filed out of the auditorium, some chattering happily, others moaning at the amount of homework they had to contend with as well as with extra practice. Dark fervently hoped that he had not missed anything of great importance in English.

A shrill sound escaped the flute as Dark surveyed his enemy; History homework. The teacher had once more given them a project; to research one aspect of life in Nazi Germany and make a presentation to show the class. _Too bad it's not a group project, _the purple-haired teen thought miserably. Sighing, he pushed the books to one side and grinned; he had always been strong at Maths. He gently placed the flute to one side and worked through the problems steadily, wondering what Daisuke was doing at the moment.

**Daisuke:**

"Dai-chan!" Emiko called up the stairs. "You'd better go to sleep now! It's getting late and you don't want to oversleep, do you?" The redhead in question sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing slowly at his eyes. Sighing, he decided to call it quits for the nigh, as it was clear from the tone of his mother's voice that she would not leave him alone until it was clear that he was in bed and fast asleep.

The next morning, Daisuke awoke to find himself shivering slightly, as he was only clad in a pair of thin pyjamas. Surprisingly enough, the weather had indeed changed overnight; where it had been sunny just the day before, it was now grey. It seemed as though Winter had abruptly decided to push Fall away from the world instead of slowly taking over, as it normally did. Luckily, Emiko was well-prepared for this shift in the weather and happily pointed to the large pile of winter clothing in another section of the wardrobe. "It's just a cold front, but it's always coldest when you're not accustomed to it yet!" she chirped happily as Daisuke shivered and ate his toast.

At school, no one wanted to sit in the courtyard for fear of freezing. A chilly wind was blowing in from the mountains, carrying with it all the iciness of the mountain-tops that made up the Hida Mountains. Dark looked good in this kind of weather, Daisuke reflected absently as he watched the purple-haired man dash through the doors wearing what had jokingly been dubbed 'Dark's Standard Winter Gear' by the class a few years before. In his left hand, he clutched his flute case as usual.

"Dai-chan!" The other shouted exuberantly, pushing stray wisps of hair out of his face with his free hand. He reached the redhead in a matter of seconds and before he could move, Daisuke was enveloped in a bear hug. "You're _warm_," the other moaned happily and buried his face in the thick spikes of the other boy's hair. "So _warm_…"

Someone coughed, and the pair looked up to find Sawaguchi-sensei looking at them with a bemused expression on his face. "I know you wish to show the extent of your feelings towards Niwa as much as possible, Mousy-kun," he mildly said, "but perhaps you could wait for just one and a half hours?" The class burst into laughter and for a moment, Daisuke remembered the way Dark's flute sounded as it mimicked the merry laughter of the class. He was sure that the piece had not been written for this occasion.

Blushing furiously (well, Daisuke was; Dark was merely irked), both boys settled back down into their seats as the teacher began to explain the concept of 'First Principles' (3). Krad snickered all the way through class as he jabbed Dark in the back with a pencil repeatedly.

Daisuke dropped his bag onto the floor and approached the piano quickly, lifting up the lid and whipping the cloth off. He sat down on the leather stool and began to play, not even thinking about which notes came next. The music flowed through him and he imagined the look on Dark's face when he realized just how much this song meant to him.

**14th December, 6:00pm:**

"I'm so nervous!" Risa wailed backstage. "What if I lose my place in the music? What if I trip over and fall flat on my face? What if I…"

"Hush, Risa," her twin scolded. "You'll be fine." However, nothing she could do would reassure her distraught twin. Daisuke stared at the sheets of music in his hands, fingers tracing over the staves and notes. Although he had the entire piece down by heart, he'd still chosen to bring the music along. Just in case. He closed his eyes and thought of Dark, sitting down there in the pit (4) along with the rest of the orchestra. He smiled, remembering what had happened during the run-through of the performance.

_-Flashback-_

"_Dai-chan!" Daisuke turned around to see Dark barreling towards him once more. However, this time he was quicker and side-stepped the other's outstretched arms, causing the purple-haired teen to crash into Krad instead. Without missing a beat, the flautist wrapped his arms around the blond and proceeded to cuddle him. The other let out an undignified shriek of shock and hastily tried to peel the other off, snarling threats until Satoshi entered the room. _

_After being subjected to one of the famous Hikari speeches on morality and not stealing other people's partners, Dark slunk into a corner of the room and casually threw an arm over Daisuke's shoulders. "So darling, darling stand…by me!" He crooned softly, nuzzling the other's neck. The crimson-eyed teen sighed amusedly and leaned back, laughing softly as strands of purple hair tickled his neck. He missed having Dark around, even though he knew that if either of them were to meet the other, neither would be able to get anything done on account of the other. It felt good to laugh with Dark again after talking to him only during classes before the teacher entered and during break times. _

_-End Flashback-_

He sighed and rested both hands lightly on the table, fingers moving over invisible keys. He hoped that tonight, he would be able to perform his very best. Not just for his family and himself, but also for Dark. It had been a long time since he'd performed anything on the piano for someone other than a family member.

**Dark:**

People trickled into the hall from all the entrances. Dark winced at seeing one woman enter with a baby; if the child started squalling in the middle of the performance, it would certainly detract from the music. He didn't normally have anything against young children, but he did believe that going to a concert with one could be unpleasant, both for the audience and the musicians. After all, children's cries were not meant to be used for music.

The emcees walked on stage, both dressed in smart-casual wear. Satoshi politely welcomed the audience in Japanese, whilst Apollo translated the words into English for the non-Japanese speaking members of the audience. After all, foreign students made up a substantial number of White Crane's student body. "And now," Satoshi concluded, "We will begin with Vivaldi's 'Winter'. Enjoy." Amidst polite applause, the pair walked into the wings. Fukamachi-sensei raised his baton and Dark slowly raised the flute to his lips.

Daisuke took another gulp of water to quell his nerves, hands trembling slightly. He could not practice here to reassure himself; the noise from the piano would interfere with the music in the auditorium. He looked at the empty seats all around him; most of the people here tonight were in the school choir, and had thus all already gone onstage to perform. He could hear faint strains of music if he tried; apparently they were now going through 'Ring Christmas Bells'. It didn't sound half bad, he dazedly thought. Another glance at the programme only told him that his act was next. He still couldn't believe that he was about to perform a piano piece in front of an audience which was _not _related to him in some way for the first time in seven years. About to declare his love for his boyfriend in music, no less. Suddenly Ben walked past him, dark eyes filled with sympathy and the redhead realized that he was up. Standing up, he joined the other two and walked towards the piano, whilst they introduced the audience to the next act.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a hand to the White Crane Choir for their excellent rendition of 'Ring Christmas Bells'!" Ben announced cheerfully. Satoshi shot him a look, but then sighed. He caught sight of Daisuke sitting at the piano, and blinked. _Is Daisuke in another part of the concert that I didn't know about? _He thought bemusedly. If he remembered correctly, the orchestra was to play another piece to which the audience could sing along, and then the recorder group was to play a few pieces. Daisuke wasn't due to come on until the second act, after the intermission. He shot a look at the other emcee, silently looking towards Daisuke. Unfortunately, the other turned around with no subtlety whatsoever and the blue-haired teen resisted the urge to sigh. "For our next act," the American announced, "Let's give a hand to Daisuke Niwa!" The audience burst into applause after a momentary pause in which the rustling of many programmes could be heard. The dark boy turned to him and shrugged lightly before mouthing, 'Translate'. Satoshi hastily repeated the name of the act in Japanese and there was applause once more before the lights dimmed and Daisuke was in the spotlight.

"Um…" Daisuke carefully adjusted the microphone perched near his mouth on the piano. "I'd just like to say that this piece is dedicated to my family, and one very special person." He spared a glance at the pit, but found that Dark, being on the far side of the stage, was hidden by all the other musicians. "You know who you are," he added into the mike before slowly beginning the introduction. He hoped that the piece would be suitable for the audience; after all, classical infused with pop on a piano could easily go very, very wrong.

"If I could take this moment forever  
Turn the pages of my mind  
To another place and time  
We would never say goodbye."

Daisuke knew that Dark would probably tease him for being so maudlin, but deep inside he knew that they would both have to leave for university, and with his dream of going to Rome to study art, it was unlikely that he would see Dark again for a very long time. After all, neither of them had money to spend on pleasure jaunts in far-off countries. He knew that the song was probably more for Dark than anyone else, but also knew that his family understood what part they played in his choice of music. The piano slowly died out and Daisuke closed his eyes, pushing everything he had into the melody.

He stood up and bowed in a daze, uncaring of the applause that seemed to be muffled by a thick veil, stunned by the fact that his performance was now over. He was dimly surprised that nothing had seemed to go wrong, that his fingers did not falter despite his not having played the piano in front of an audience for so long. Amidst applause, he hastily retreated into the dark safety of the wings, where he laughed breathlessly at himself when he realized that he'd gone onstage far too early.

Fukamachi-sensei watched amusedly as the pianist rushed offstage, rising smoothly from his chair and walking over to the podium. He raised his baton and cleared his throat, waiting for the orchestra to ready themselves. They quickly launched into their traditional Christmas medley, moving easily through 'Jingle Bells', 'O Holy Night' and 'God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen'. Next came the solo pieces, the section in which Daisuke was _supposed _to have performed. The conductor raised an eyebrow at the sight of the twins performing together. _An interesting evening, indeed, _he decided. Everyone knew that Risa never wanted to perform with Riku for fear of becoming nothing more than 'Harada-san's little sister'. Tonight, though, there was no such problem. Perhaps the younger twin had matured over the years, then.

Dark watched everyone perform silently, his hands loosely curled around the flute on his lap. His mind whirled as he realized that Daisuke was, in a way, trying to find some way to avoid the most likely post-high school outcome. The redhead had been trying to ask him not to leave, and what to do at the same time. It was a frightening thought. Shaking his head to clear it of such unpleasant thoughts-it was Christmas, for crying out loud!-Dark settled down to wait for his turn to play.

"I can't sing," he told the audience nonchalantly, "But I've been told that I play a mean flute." Lifting the instrument to his lips, he began to play the piece he'd composed a mere week and a half ago It wasn't the one he'd shown Daisuke; it was another one, a piece that he'd thrown together late one night. He still wasn't sure just what had triggered the desire to write, but he had a feeling that his not talking to the other boy had something to do with it. His fingers flew over the keys deftly, pressing down at all the right places. He was starting to slip into the flow of the music when suddenly he realized that he would not have enough breath to make it up to the top of the chromatic scale. He couldn't take a breath; at this stage, anything other than an uninterrupted flow would sound awkward. His lungs were constricting, his chest narrowing as he continued to play the flute. He was about to reach the top and the flute gave out a squeak, lacking the air to sustain the silvery sound. Dark refused to cringe or blush, taking a quick breath before continuing to play. He came to the end of the piece without any further problems, bowing to the audience before returning to his seat within the orchestra.

**8:00pm:**

They filed out, chattering noisily about the concert. Dark made sure to give Madame Lambert a wide berth, remembering his long-overdue French homework. He headed towards one of the tables, seeing Krad and Satoshi standing near one of them. The blond was looking quite uncomfortable with Risa's hands wrapped around one of his arms as she praised his violin concerto. Satoshi was as collected as ever, although the purple-haired teen noticed that his friend's blue eyes were unnervingly sharp. Riku saw him first and nodded, smiling a little at him. "Hey," he said casually, jabbing Krad in the ribs and causing the other to growl. "Where's Daisuke?"

"Takeshi caught him," Satoshi bluntly replied, causing everyone to groan. They knew that once Takeshi caught someone who had been an actual 'eye witness' to the event, nothing short of a nuclear explosion would be able to get him to let go. After all, the other was the Chief Editor of the school magazine, which meant that he often had to run around looking for good stories. He often took this task a little too much to heart, meaning that anyone answering his questions could very well be stuck there for the next hour or so.

Dark sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll go rescue him, then," he laughed, turning in the direction indicated by Satoshi. "See you!" The others answered in kind, the girls adding compliments on his performance.

Daisuke sighed for the fifth time, wondering just why he had to run into Takeshi, of all people. Placing a hand on his phone, he feigned surprise and hastily told the other, "Sorry, my parents are calling me." Ignoring the other's shouts for him to come back, the redhead took off, pretending to talk frantically on his phone. As he rounded the corner, he crashed into someone and both of them went flying.

After a minute of confused blinking and hasty apologies, both Dark and Daisuke burst out into laughter again. Standing up, Daisuke offered his hand to the amethyst-eyed teen, who took it. Their laughter slowly died away as they looked at each other and without another word, they left the noisy corridor for the quiet streets.

"Hey," Daisuke asked, huddled against Dark on one of the park benches. "Was I okay?"

The other paused for a moment before looking down at him with amusement dancing in his eyes. Lips curved upwards in a small smile before he replied, "You came out too early." Daisuke giggled as he remembered the feeling of horror when he'd returned to one of the reserved classrooms and Ben had asked him whether there had been a last minute programme change. "But," Dark continued, "why that song?"

Daisuke shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to know whether we'd stay like this or whether we'd split."

"How unromantic," the other teased gently. "And here I was, thinking that you'd stand by me." Both of them laughed once more, but it was clear that the mood had changed and both were thinking along the same lines: _What will happen when university comes around? _Neither had really thought much about the matter until now, as the year drew to a close. After all, so much time had already passed without their realizing it, and they were already in their second year of senior high. "Hey, Daisuke," Dark softly said.

"Mm?" The other looked up at him.

"It'd be nice to keep in touch," he murmured. He felt the other shift against him before blinking at the sudden sensation of warm breath tickling his neck. Daisuke chuckled lowly.

"Yeah, it would," he agreed.

Dark silently stood up, pushing Daisuke away lightly. "Let's go home," he finally said. "I'm cold." He held out a hand to the redhead, who immediately stood up.

Dark stood in the kitchen, watching the saucepan of milk as it bubbled. His eyes turned to the canister of chocolate powder on the kitchen countertop, then swung over once more to Daisuke, who was sitting on the table swinging his legs. Crimson met amethyst and the redhead blushed before looking away, causing the other to grin. Desperate to end the silence, Daisuke blurted out, "Where are your parents?"

Dark shrugged. "Not here. Dad's with his girlfriend _again_, even though he keeps saying it's just for business," he snorted at this point and rolled his eyes, "and mom's out partying it up with her friends, probably." Daisuke shrugged.

"Thanks for letting me come over," he softly said.

"Anytime. You want to stay over tonight?"

Daisuke hesitated. He had stayed over at Dark's several times, mainly during the holidays, but this time he didn't know whether he'd be allowed to, seeing as his father was home for once and his mother certainly would not appreciate being given such short notice. "Come on," the purple-haired teen coaxed gently. "I won't do anything, I promise." Daisuke flushed crimson to the roots of his hair and glared.

"Ecchi!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Daisuke ended up staying over at Dark's house that night, watching movies all night. They fell asleep on the couch for what must have been the fiftieth time, huddled up together underneath the large, soft quilt that Dark had dragged down from his bedroom. Just as he fell asleep, Daisuke dimly heard the man on the television go, "That's the spirit of Christmas."

Seeing as you've all reached this point and that I've obviously taken so long to post this one-shot, I guess I'll give you a Christmas present; that is, a two in one bonus (aren't you guys happy?) It's a little drabble I came up with a while ago for a forum challenge, but then I realized I was reading the wrong requirements so I had to delete it. It's exactly 100 words.

**Requirement: I'd watch where you're putting that if I were you.**

'And now, I'm back-to let you know…I can really shake 'em down.' Dark spun Daisuke across the dancefloor vigorously, so frequently that the other soon became dizzy.

Daisuke bit his lip desperately, trying to keep quiet. Soon, though, he could no longer hold it in and let out a squawk of pain. "OUCH!"

He looked down pointedly at Dark's foot, which was on top of his own and had been stomping there continuously for a few minutes now. "I'd watch where you're putting that if I were you."

He felt something poking his stomach and glanced down quickly. "And that."

* * *

1: Piano in the canteen: This is based on the 'old' canteen in my school (we now have a new, spiffy one). There was a piano in there, which was up for anyone who wanted to play.

2: 'Prac': Abbreviation for 'practical report', where you have to perform an experiment and detail your hypothesis, method etc. Using the results, you then draw conclusions and present them in report form. This is found most frequently in science classes, usually Biology or Chemistry.

3: First Principles: The basic formula for Calculus that enables one to find the gradient of a curve at one particular point. However, it is quite tricky, as of course everyone who's done high school math knows that the gradient _constantly changes_.

4: Pit: Orchestral terminology, referring to the lowered area in front of the stage where the orchestra sits.

So how was that, people? Good, bad, frightfully long, frightfully pretentious, plain silly? I really appreciate it if you'd give me some reviews, as I'm starting to miss finding the things in my inbox every day (I know, I'm sad). Please review, and it'd be lovely if you talked a little about the drabble as well. Thank you for getting through this surprisingly long piece, and merry Christmas to you all!


	18. Just Like In The Movies

**Just Like In the Movies:**

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel.

Warnings: Fluff abound, sweet enough to rot your teeth and then some.

A/N: Let's see what researching my topic instead of just spewing things out does for my writing.

* * *

Dark had known from the very beginning that Daisuke was a hopeless romantic. After all, what teenager could write a love letter, hand it to the girl of his dreams, be rejected and still hope for some sort of magical event that would see her into his arms? Of course, the thief was also privy to some of Daisuke's inner thoughts, the ones that he'd never thought he'd see in any host of his. The ones that conjured up candle-lit dinners, bouquets of roses, rides in Ferris Wheels that oh-so-conveniently overlooked the sea and provided an amazing view of the port…things that only happened in movies and romance novels. All the same, he couldn't help but feel that the entire rigmarole was worth it if he could see the younger one's eyes light up and his mouth curve up in that open smile that he _knew _was just for him.

Daisuke couldn't help but wish that he could have one 'picture-perfect' moment with Dark. He knew that it wasn't in Dark's nature to openly show his feelings, and he preferred to be discreet about his relationships, but all the same it wasn't wrong to hope, right? He already knew what he wanted to get Dark; he'd seen it in one of the shops which littered Azumano's trendier district, inside a little white box. He was now saving up to buy it, an easy task since he normally disliked shopping and he rarely had time to wander around town on his own; a consequence of his many night-time escapades, he supposed. He didn't expect anything from Dark, but he couldn't help but wish for a little something, even a single rose.

_Hey, Daisuke. _

-Dark?-

The thief hesitated for a moment before the courage that had welled up in him dwindled and shrank. He thought for a minute longer before slowly shaking his head and then feeling like a monster as Daisuke's disappointment shot through him before the other could tamp it down. _Nothing. _

He felt his heart sink as the other's presence faded from his consciousness. Dark had a habit of making himself either very, very conspicuous or utterly invisible, blending into the recesses of Daisuke's mind with all the effort of a hawk soaring into the sky. Shaking his head, he returned to learning about the Reconstruction Finance Corporation of 1931.

He finally snapped, unsure about where to begin planning his 'romantic evening' with Daisuke. A quick stop at the bookstore with an oversized hooded sweatshirt and a pair of baggy jeans, and Dark made his way out holding the latest issue of 'Teen Vogue' wrapped in glossy plastic. He didn't dare look in any of the store windows for fear of seeing his own red face. The thief thanked whatever deity had inspired Zephyra Lynx to create the Dual Plate, allowing him to leave Daisuke's mind for 12 hours.

Daisuke stopped by the little store that day just to make sure Dark's present was still there. The storekeeper smiled and assured him that he would hold the little item until the thirteenth, for which the redhead thanked him sincerely. "I'll get the money soon," he promised the older man, who told him not to worry. The redhead thanked the heavens that Dark was off doing his own thing; it was difficult to tell whether the thief knew what was going on around him even if he was asleep, and how far the other could see into his mind.

**Step 1: Flowers. Everyone gives roses, but they're definitely not the only ones that say 'I love you', so why not try some of the less well-known ones such as arum lilies, azaleas or orange blossoms and go that extra mile? Check out ' for the language of flowers, or see your local florist for recommendations.**

Dark smirked to himself. _Flowers, _he thought. _Easy-peasy. I'll just go to that place where Emiko always gets her flowers…what was it called again? The Koneko, right? It seems to be extremely popular with the girls at Daisuke's school. _He hurried out of the house once more, hoping that the florist would come up with something good that he could present to Daisuke.

_Oh my God._ Dark thought to himself as he walked out of the shop. _No wonder Emiko goes there so often. Hell, _I _would go there if I didn't already have someone. _He'd pushed through the horde of crazed girls, only to be pushed into one of the shopkeepers by their pushing and shoving. He'd had large brown eyes and the kind of looks one associated with a country boy, all innocence and good-natured fun. "Can I help you?" Dark was lost, with the result that he walked out of the store barely knowing what he'd bought and ordered. He only hoped that he'd remembered to write his name on the 'From' portion of the tag.

**Step 2: Plan. Do you want a home-cooked meal, or a romantic movie and then dinner at a snazzy restaurant? Whatever you do, make a plan first. We suggest a romantic activity first, followed by dinner and then a 'quiet time' session. Try and keep it simple; you're not organizing a one-day tour! Besides, a simple evening means less work and fewer headaches for you. **

Planning was a simple matter; Dark had always been a fast thinker, and besides, he knew what Daisuke wanted. It was fortunate that the carnival had recently arrived in Azumano and would be staying for four weeks, through Valentine's Day. He soon decided that he would make the perfect romantic dinner, roses, candles and all, followed by a trip to the Carnival. Luckily, it closed at twelve, which would give them plenty of time to enjoy themselves.

_What do I have to do…let me see…_Dark immediately categorized all the chores into two lists: Dinner and Carnival. Dinner seemed to be the most complicated, as he needed to buy vanilla candles, romantic music and everything in between. He also needed to find a list of nice, simple but tasty dishes that he could prepare without help and a chocolate dessert that would _not _raise hell in the kitchen. _Good grief, _he thought. _Why wasn't Risa's date so difficult to arrange? _He was sorely tempted to go downtown just to flirt with that pretty brunette at the Koneko some more as well as order flowers, but time was running out and Daisuke would soon be home.

Daisuke hid the roll of wrapping paper at the back of his cupboard, along with the rest of his art supplies. He knew that anything near his art supplies aroused no curiosity from his mother whatsoever; she preferred to see him steal artwork, not create his own. All the same, he couldn't help but think that she was just a tiny little bit proud of his skill; after all, one of his paintings hung downstairs in the hall, and Emiko never failed to point this out to guests entering the Niwa household. He only hoped that the thief didn't catch the tail-end of his thoughts, or else the game would be up. Being a thief, Dark could literally coax secrets out of anyone. _Daisuke darling, _Dark's voice teased.

-Right on cue,- the other thought a little wryly. He let the purple-haired man stew for a while longer, knowing that Dark would soon get to the point.

_Aw, you're so mean,_ the other pouted. Daisuke merely rolled his eyes. _But if you continue being mean to me, _the other added, _I might just leave you. _The redhead rolled his eyes again, already accustomed to this sort of teasing from the angel. The ease with which he now interacted with Dark still sometimes scared him.

-Oh, really.-

Dark nodded vigorously, smirking wildly. _Indeed. There's a cute guy I want to try out down at that flower shop…_Daisuke blinked.

-What's his name?-

_Good question. _Daisuke giggled at the thought of Dark trying to chat up someone whose name he didn't even know and then quickly sobered, knowing that the thief could probably do it if he tried. Heavens alone knew how many clubs he went to, anyway. Seeing that the redhead was now slightly flustered, Dark continued. _He's got big chocolate eyes, brown hair and he's oh-so-friendly…_

Daisuke winced. –Does he like soccer?-

_Well, he was wearing one when I saw him…_

The Tamer only barely managed to stop himself from falling off the bed from laughter. The piece of furniture shook as he doubled over with laughter at the mere thought of Dark trying to make a move on the other. –You wish,- he barely managed to reply.

The other sulked for a moment. _And just why would that be? _He asked curiously.

-He's already taken.- Dark didn't bother replying, knowing that any argument he got into now would not turn in his favour.

_Fine, _he sulked, brightening up considerable when he thought of flirting with the other boy anyway. _Well, people can always change their minds, right Daisuke? _The younger boy didn't reply still giggling from the thought of Dark trying to do anything other than buy from the boy at the flower shop.

The next few days saw Daisuke's blood pressure shoot through the roof as the teachers piled on projects, essays, presentations and tests. He barely had time to think about Dark's present, still in the plaza store, and Dark never mentioned anything about it.

**Feb. 11th:**

"Thank you!" Daisuke quickly stuffed the gift into his bag and ran out the door. He glanced at his watch hastily and groaned as he realized that paying for the present had just cost him three minutes and the bus. _Why, Dai-chan, is that for me? _Dark lazily drawled. _What dedication; I'm flattered. _

-Oh no!- Daisuke was horrified to discover that not only was Dark awake, but that he was also going to be in a world of hurt when his mother realized that he was late home again. He only hoped that his uncle hadn't arrived yet. –I'll deal with you later,- he promised the dark angel as he dashed off, hoping to arrive at the next bus stop before the bus itself did.

**Dinner:**

"So, how have you been, Daisuke?" Taiga ruffled his nephew's hair playfully before throwing himself onto a chair with a groan of relief. "How's life?"

"Eh, it's been okay. Nothing much," the redhead answered. The other man threw his head back and laughed.

"He's just like you, Kosuke," the dark-haired man remarked. "Totally introverted." Kosuke blushed lightly and looked away, causing his younger brother to laugh even harder. Luckily, Emiko came out carrying a tray of food, and the boisterous man's attention was diverted to his sister-in-law's cooking for a while.

Throughout dinner, Taiga kept up a constant flow of conversation. Even Daiki, normally quiet, was drawn into the conversation, and soon all of the Niwas were talking. "So, Daisuke," the man suddenly said, bringing the force of his dark gaze onto the redhead. "Valentine's Day is coming up soon. Got a special girl in mind?" The younger boy blushed furiously, cursing the years in America that had made his uncle so open about such things.

Kosuke sighed at his son's embarrassment, though the action was tinged with more than a slight hint of pity. "Don't embarrass him, Tai," he lightly scolded his sibling. "You know he doesn't like to talk about these things."

"But it's fun! Besides, what kind of uncle would I be if I didn't know who my own nephew was interested in, eh?"

"There's no point," Daisuke muttered under his breath as Dark burst out into peals of laughter. The kaitou had been waiting for a chance to see Daisuke's reaction when someone outside of school asked him about his love life, and this was the perfect situation. _Dai-chan, _he purred. _Why don't you just be open about things and tell him? After all, it's not like the rest of the family doesn't know. _

Taiga leaned over and nudged his nephew playfully with his elbow. "Come, come, who's the lucky girl? Is her photo here? Or is it in a box under your bed with her handkerchief?" He was about to continue pestering the teen, but upon seeing the look of utter serenity (known as the prelude to murder) on his brother's face, he hastily left off. However, the man was nothing if not the physical embodiment of mischief, and teasing Daisuke was just too much fun to pass up.

Kosuke kept his glare focused on his younger brother, but inwardly he knew that if Taiga wanted to continue, not even Hades himself could stop him. He saw his brother's eyes dart around and resisted the urge to sigh. He could practically read his siblings thoughts: _To continue, or not to continue? _

Daisuke's father swore that his brother was the reincarnation of Loki the Trickster himself, more so when he heard the words fly out of Taiga's mouth. "Oh, it must not be a girl then, since Dai-chan's so shy about it. Is he very good-looking too?" Silence fell across the table.

Dark couldn't believe the nerve of this man. _Hey, Dai-chan, let me out, _he told the other. The redhead shook his head, not wishing to cause any more of a disturbance at the table. His face was bright red and the thief scowled. _Tch. Just stand up for yourself then, Dai-chan,_ he told the other. _I'll cheer you on!_ The redhead tried to hush the angel, but to no avail as the other continued to talk. _He's such a loud-mouth, anyway. So cocky. _

-Look at the pot calling the kettle black,- he thought back in response. He turned to look at his uncle and forced a weak smile out, hoping that his face wasn't bright red. "Um, no," he said politely. "I just don't want to talk about it, that's all."

"Oh, Dai-chan," his uncle laughed, ruffling the spiky red locks playfully, "You can tell me. It's perfectly normal to like someone at this age! Why, I remember when I was fourteen—"

"Taiga," Kosuke interrupted. "Shut up." The entire table turned to stare at the normally quiet and polite man. Upon seeing their faces, he blushed but held firm. "Please," he added as an afterthought. Taiga raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging and leaning back.

**Three hours later:**

Emiko waved happily at her brother-in-law. "Come again soon, Taiga," she chirped. "It was nice having you over!" Kosuke nodded at his brother, but inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief. He looked down at his son, who was smiling and waving as though nothing had happened. Sighing, he thanked the heavens silently for a somewhat more peaceful dinner than last time. After all, one food fight between his wife and brother was quite enough, thank you very much.

Dark was still sulking over Daisuke's refusal to change in the middle of dinner. _Not at the dinner table, Dark, _he mimicked in a high-pitched tone.

-Dark!- The redhead tried to explain his reasoning to the kaitou, but it was clear that the older one obviously did not want to listen. He continued babbling blithely through Daisuke's attempt to explain, laughing at his own jokes as the other attempted to make himself heard. The crimson-eyed teen finally gave up and blocked the other out. Growling, he turned to his Japanese homework, sorely regretting his romantic notions. –As if he'd recognize romantic if it dropped on his head from the Empire State Building,- he thought.

The next few days passed without incident, Dark not saying a word about the little white box that he'd seen. He was sure that it was for him; Daisuke's reaction had confirmed that much. However, there was no time to dally over such trivial matters. He had a full dinner to plan (and cook), and tickets to buy.

**Feb. 12th: **

_I don't believe this. _Dark gawked at the list of 'romantic recipes' in front of him, all neatly arranged in categories. At first, he'd thought of using today for research and tomorrow for preparations, but upon seeing the multitude of dishes one could prepare for a romantic Valentine Day's dinner, he knew that he shouldn't have procrastinated.

The kaitou finally decided on Singing Shrimp for appetizers, a pasta dish for the main course and coconut truffles for dessert. Smiling to himself, he hastily typed out a list and printed it out along with the recipes, remembering to erase his history and turn the machine off before Daisuke returned. Looking down at the list of ingredients and instructions, he wondered whether it would be possible to enlist Emiko's help. _Just how does one tell when the pastry's golden brown when the oven door's tinted, anyway? _

**Feb. 13th:**

Emiko clasped her hands prettily, eyes wide and sparkling with the boundless energy that could only be rivaled by a hyperactive With who'd sneaked into the fridge and stolen all the strawberries. "Dark!" She gushed, "That's _so _romantic of you! We'll…ah, what was that English phrase?" She paused before rushing onwards. "Well, never mind," she declared cheerfully. "Of course I'll help you!" The purple-haired kaitou stared before realizing that he should probably be thanking his Tamer's mother right now. After all, it wouldn't do to anger the cook this early on, would it?

Dark was still trying to recover from the trauma of spending three solid hours inside the supermarket, buying the ingredients he would need for dinner. Emiko had giggled and promised to leave the house to him, seeing as Daikii had gone to Osaka ('to get away from this frightening mess') and Kosuke had promised her a dinner out.

"All right," the brown haired woman chirped as she donned her almost ubiquitous white apron, "Let's get started!" She promptly shoved a bowl into Dark's hands, eyes flicking over the recipe with the ease of long practice. The other could only watch and make a few, helpless gestures with his hands that were supposed to ask whether she needed help or not.

**Five hours later:**

Dark sighed in relief, hands smeared with chocolate and shreds of coconut meat. Meanwhile, Emiko slid the tray of finished truffles into the fridge and smiled cheerfully at Dark. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The thief merely groaned in reply, praying fervently that he would be able to pull off the final touches to the shrimp and pasta tomorrow.

"It'll be fine, Dark," the woman cheerfully chirped. "Just simmer the shrimp to heat it up a little, lightly bake the pastry and then spoon the mixture in. It's not that difficult." Dark looked away, at that very moment cursing Towa-chan for having accepted a friend's invitation to go to Hokkaido. Meanwhile, Emiko continued happily. "As for the lasagna, just bake it gently for a little while and you'll be just fine." She giggled. "Make sure you tell me what happens next," she told the kaitou.

"Tadaima!" Right on cue, Daisuke entered the kitchen. Dark almost froze, but luckily had the presence of mind to hide his hands behind his back. "You're helping mom with dinner, Dark?" Not trusting himself to speak lest he say something stupid, the purple-haired teen nodded. Emiko beamed.

**Feb 14th:**

Although he was fairly up to date with the current school gossip courtesy of Saehara, Daisuke was sure he had never _thought _about half the couples he had seen. He blew a few strands of wayward red out of his eyes and looked out at the grey sky, the clouds and heavy air predicting rain. _I bet Dark probably doesn't even know what day it is, _he thought a little sadly. His mind then turned to the little box hidden at the bottom of his closet and the redhead cheered up a little before being rudely jerked back into the land of the living by Takaki-sensei's question.

There was a knock on the door and a group of students bearing roses walked in. "Um, we're the Valentine's Day team…is it all right if we give out roses now?" The teacher paused mid-rant whilst the class held their breath, as they were more acquainted with Takaki-sensei's view of people who interrupted his lectures for 'trivial matters'.

"Oh, all right," the man sighed reluctantly. "But hurry up." The group hastily began calling out names, distributing the flowers to those who were in the room. Apart from a sprig of rosemary from Satoshi (which the other boy had seemed to have bought especially for him), Daisuke did not get a single flower. He sighed and looked out the window once more, ignoring the squeals of delight from those who had received roses. The only one who did not say anything was Satoshi, although he was probably too busy trying to get the pile off his desk without spoiling them.

Ken cursed as the delivery van broke down, the back spewing out exhaust fumes into the road. Behind him, a number of angry drivers slammed on their horns, demanding that he move. "Well, sh--! I would if I could!" He hollered at a particularly obnoxious man in a blue Honda.

"Move it, kid!"

"F--- off!" Growling in distaste, he pulled out his phone and called the flower shop. Unfortunately, Aya picked up.

**Sixth period:**

He looked around the large building, hoping that he could find classroom 3B, wherever that was. However, with a little logic and luck, the flower seller managed to get to the room in time. He raised his hand and knocked.

"Excuse me, I have a delivery for…um…" He checked the tag. "Daisuke Niwa?" A redhead stood up, blushing prettily, so Ken smiled cheerfully at him. "Happy Valentine's Day!" He told the other boy before leaving. "See you!" Outside, the clouds grew even darker.

Daisuke resigned himself to a day filled with questions and curious looks as he hauled the bouquet around the school, as it was much too big to fit inside his locker. He was therefore accosted by scores of people, wanting to see just who liked Daisuke that much.

**Dark:**

Dark smiled as he looked at the clock, thinking that Daisuke must have received the flowers by now. He could only pray that it didn't start raining before his Tamer returned, as he knew that Daisuke was clumsy enough to try and juggle an umbrella and the flowers, hence dropping one, the other, or both.He only hoped that Daisuke didn't accidentally squash the first part of his gift between the tables or under his chair.

He settled down into the couch more comfortably and shuddered as his eyes were once more assaulted by the sight of a drunken Bridget Jones giggling helplessly. Sighing, he jabbed a random number on the remote control, hoping that there were better programmes on at this time. After all, there had to be at least one channel that _wasn't _going to run a host of romantic movies, didn't there?

**An hour later:**

Dark bemusedly looked down at the sobbing mass latched firmly onto his arm, otherwise known as Emiko Niwa. Her teary eyes were glued to the screen as Juliet fell gracefully onto her funeral bed, landing (all too coincidentally, Dark thought) in Romeo's arms. The purple-haired man patted her on the back awkwardly, leaning over to reach for the tissue box. "Thanks," she snuffled. The other nodded again, hoping that the film would soon end.

"Coming up next," the television announced, "Aeon Cards is proud to present the BBC's version of 'Pride and Prejudice'. Stay tuned." Dark immediately perked up and slowly began to loosen Emiko's death grip on his arm. After all, this was supposed to be a comedy, right? So she wouldn't need him any more.

**3:00pm:**

Daisuke let out an undignified squawk of fright as a large, red silk heart dropped from the ceiling along with glitter and strands of pink and red paper. "Mom!"

Emiko immediately appeared in front of him, beaming. "Dai-chan! You're home early—what's that?" She immediately stooped down to read the card, which the furiously blushing redhead immediately snatched away. "Oh, Dai-chan's got a secret admirer," she teased. "How come I didn't know this?" Daisuke hastily backed away, not wanting to get caught in an interrogation. "They're such lovely roses," she cooed. "I'll put them in a vase for you, all right?" Without even waiting for a reply, she whisked the flowers out of his hands and vanished, presumably into the kitchen where the vases were kept.

Dark sauntered out just as Daisuke had finished taking his shoes off, purple eyes glinting expectantly. "Did you like the roses?" The redhead just looked at him, large eyes shining happily, and Dark knew that he had his answer. He managed a little smile despite wanting to shout with joy. For once, he had done something right.

Daisuke nodded once, swallowing hard. "Yeah." He slowly walked towards Dark, only managing to get halfway down the corridor before running the rest of the way. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Dark!" The other chuckled a little, smoothing his hair gently.

"I'm glad you didn't get caught in the rain," he said shortly, tilting the other's head up with a gentle hand. "Now how about I give you a nice welcome home." Without another word, he quickly kissed Daisuke. Just as abruptly, he broke it and promptly disappeared. _Don't tire yourself out,_ he told the other. _We're going out tonight. _Daisuke blushed and couldn't help but look out at the window, wondering just what Dark had planned. Perhaps he really had thought of something special for Valentine's Day.

**5:00pm:**

"Daisuke." Kosuke looked down at his son and coughed slightly, face colouring. Dark wished that he, too, had a physical form, so that he could call the other up on it, but he kept this thought to himself. "Emiko and I are going out. She also tells me that dinner is ready, and only needs a little warming up. Dark knows what to do. I trust you will not burn the kitchen down like last time." The thief cringed, remembering the pastries and lasagna in the fridge. Well, he thought to himself, it couldn't be all that hard using the microwave alone.

Daisuke couldn't focus on his homework, mind occupied with what Dark was doing. From the look on the older teen's face as he walked downstairs, it was clear that he was nervous about something, most likely dinner. Daisuke had offered to help, but tonight the purple-haired man seemed particularly adamant about making dinner himself, insisting that he would be perfectly fine. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Dark rushed to the door after pushing the pastry shells into the oven, paying the florist and hastily closing the door before Daisuke came down to investigate. Smiling quickly at his Tamer, Dark rushed back into the kitchen with the flowers. _Vase, vase, _he thought to himself. _I forgot where Emiko puts the vases! _Disaster struck just five minutes later in the form of the fire alarm going off.

"Dark? Are you all right?" Daisuke shouted before mentally smacking himself. Of course Dark wasn't all right! The fire alarm was going off, for crying out loud! "Do you need some help?"

The purple-haired thief panicked, desperately trying to put the minature fire out with a wet washcloth. "Just peachy!" He quickly called back. "The thing just went off for no blasted reason!" He flapped at the fire once more with the cloth, trying to beat the flames out. Upstairs, Daisuke frowned but decided not to go. After all, he didn't need a repeat performance of the time the fire alarm had gone off because Krad and Satoshi were 'busy' on the kitchen counter instead of keeping an eye on the stove.

Dark sighed in relief fifteen minutes later. Apart from the slightly burnt smell in the kitchen and the blackened remainders of pastry shell, there was no evidence to suggest that anything had gone wrong. If only he had checked the inside of the oven. The thief looked at the pan of lasagna, mentally bracing himself for the ordeal that was the microwave. Gingerly placing the pan into the microwave, he triumphantly slammed the door shut. There was a splintering crack and he found himself gawking at the now broken microwave door. _Sh--_. "Dark?" It was Daisuke. "I'm done!" _Sh--! _Dark swore once more, this time more vibrantly.

"Don't come downstairs!" He yelled frantically, eyes darting around for something with which to hide the broken machine.

"But Da-ark," Daisuke called back in that oh-so-innocent voice of his. "I want to watch some TV."

"Um…okay," Dark quickly said, darting over to the door. "But don't come into the kitchen!"

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some help?" The redhead questioned once more. "You sound a little…harrowed."

"Honestly?" Daisuke's voice was still a little hesitant.

"Yes, I'm sure!" The thief hastily replied. He looked down at the frozen pasta and swallowed hard. There was only one thing for it now. Swinging the oven door open, he pushed the lasagna inside and twisted the dial, praying that the pasta would be all right.

The floral arrangements seemed to be all right, Dark noted. Apart from the slight chip in the vase where he'd accidentally chipped it on the counter, nothing seemed to be amiss. In fact, he was just about to take the flowers out when suddenly the oven shrilled, having finally decided to co-operate with him for once. The thief looked between the oven and the vase, torn between the two tasks before deciding to finish the former first. After all, it wouldn't hurt to leave the lasagna in for a little longer, would it?

The fire alarm went off again.

Daisuke stared down at the pink mess, trying his best not to laugh. The look on Dark's face when he'd burst into the kitchen was absolutely priceless. He cautiously scooped a little shrimp out, placed it in his mouth…and almost choked. It was ice-cold. "Dark?" He asked carefully. "How about I go heat this up?" The other looked positively miserable, and didn't respond. Sighing, the redhead took his boyfriend's plate and went for the microwave. Meanwhile, Dark sat there with his head in his hands before the full consequences of what Daisuke was about to do hit him.

"Don't!" He yelled before the sound of two plates shattering on the floor reached his ears.

Dark was in agony. Daisuke had insisted upon sampling the lasagna despite its rather charred state, taking a large mouthful and smiling hard despite the other's pleas for him not to do so. "It's delicious," the other insisted. "Really." The dark angel nearly cried and told himself to get dessert ready. At least it didn't involve using any machines. Fortunately, dessert passed without any incidents aside from Daisuke's squeal when he found that there the truffles turned out to be made of coconut shreds rather than chocolate (although admittedly, it didn't stop him from eating them quite happily).

**At the carnival:**

"We have encountered some technical difficulties and are currently trying to fix them, so please remain calm and do not try to climb out of the cars. We apologise sincerely for this and ask that you remain patient. Thank you." Dark couldn't believe his ears. The carnival had been perfectly all right (aside from some nasty man who'd tried to hit on Daisuke) until the Ferris Wheel. Now they were sitting atop the entire contraption, staring out at a rather foggy view of the port and shivering slightly from the cold wind.

Daisuke leaned forward and gently tapped the other's knee. "Dark." When the purple-haired man looked at him apologetically, the redhead smiled. "Don't worry," he gently said. "It's fine. I don't mind." The other smiled slightly before shaking his head and shrugging. Daisuke reached into his pocket, where he'd placed the carefully wrapped present before going out. "Here." He pressed the little box into the other's hand.

Dark looked at his Tamer in surprise. "For me?" He sounded unsure now. Daisuke nodded reassuringly.

"Yeah. For you." Without further ado, the thief hastily ripped the paper off and opened the box, staring in amazement at the slick little Swiss army knife he'd been lusting after for since it had come out. He heard himself mumble something along the lines of thanks, but gave up and hugged the other tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled into Daisuke's jacket. "You probably saved up for ages to get me this, and I gave you a crappy date and a burnt dinner and…"

The redhead smiled as he hugged the other back. "It's all right. It's the thought that counts, right?" Dark slowly slid back into his seat when suddenly a particularly strong gust of wind rocked the car and rain began to fall once more. With a groan, Dark buried his face in his hands once more, despair overwhelming him.

Why couldn't his date be perfect like the ones in the movies they showed on TV? Why couldn't he give Daisuke his one perfect date instead of mucking it up, and why couldn't he be romantic to the one person he loved most of all, and just why couldn't he have made reservations at some fancy restaurant instead of trying to cook dinner? "Dark."

"Shut up," he mumbled in reply. "Just let me drown in my misery."

"Calm down. It's fine. I don't mind." Daisuke leaned in towards the thief and kissed him. "See? It's not so bad. They'll fix the ride soon." Dark swallowed hard and leaned in once more, pulling the younger boy into a deeper kiss. As he drew back for air, Kaitou Dark couldn't help but think that perhaps this was a perfect moment. Just like in the movies.

* * *

Done. I know it's late, but hope you all had a great Valentine's. 


	19. Tournament

**Tournament:**

Disclaimer: DN Angel is not mine.

Warnings: Aw, do we have to go through this?

A/N: I apologise for any historical errors; they are entirely my own.

This is a celebration fic for me; I have just officially finished my German exams and I will never have to take another German lesson until I enter university. On the other hand, I am also stuck doing apps, so please forgive me for the long break. Enjoy!

* * *

The knight entered the city gates, carefully guiding his horse through the bustling crowds. Some stopped to stare, but others ignored him, too absorbed in their daily tasks. It was clear where he was headed, anyway; there was only one place for knights to go, especially if they were on business. His hair and striking eyes already marked him as a foreigner, and the design on his cloak showed his allegiance to the Order of the Spears of Heaven. Luckily, his shield was covered, hiding his distinctive coat of arms and discouraging any more attention.

Dark Mousy wondered where the nearest inn was. He knew that no one would particularly care if he smelled, but _he _certainly did. He was probably covered in sweat, dust and the muck into which he had fallen when a group of bandits waylaid him. He had fortunately managed to beat them off, but smeared his cloak and armour into the dirt whilst doing so.

After an hour of wandering through town on horseback, he decided that walking would be a better idea. Phantom appeared to be getting weary, and he was tired of people staring. Leaping nimbly off the stallion, he grabbed the reins and gently tugged. "Come on," he told the horse. "Let's go find someplace to stay."

Dark walked towards a group of young women around a well. "Pardon me, ladies," he smiled and bowed, "but would you happen to know of a good inn around here?" They giggled and blushed, but finally one of them gave him directions to an inn called The Stallion. Thanking them for their advice, the knight and his horse left.

A few days later saw the knight still in the city, taking his sweet time. By his reckoning, Kanda would not be anywhere near Milan until at least six months from now, and he had plenty of time to travel west. Dark had always been good with time. Just as he was examining a cart of apples and oranges to see whether he could stock up on fruit before his long journey southward, the clanging of the herald's bell broke into his senses. "Hear ye, hear ye," the short, round man cried. "On the fifth day of March, there will be a jousting tournament at the king's castle!" The crowd began to babble, but stopped upon seeing that the man had more to say. "The winner shall be given the hand of the Princess Riku and a wreath of gold, to show that he is in the king's favour forever more!" A great cheer arose from the crowd, whilst Dark blinked. _Interesting…._he thought. _Perhaps I should go too…_

**The Stallion:**

Dark wondered at how quickly news traveled. The inn's door was now in a state of constant motion, what with all the knights entering and requesting lodging. Whilst at table, the knight fell into conversation with the group at his table, and soon discovered that they were on their way to Tuscany with important information. "And are any of you planning to participate in the tournament?" He asked casually.

"Oh, no; we must arrive at Tuscany a month from now, and I fear we have been much delayed." One of the men said.

Dark raised an eyebrow. "But surely you would not pass up the chance to contest fellow knights for such a great prize?"

"No, no. I had best leave these things to the youngsters. Besides, the princess deserves much better than an ordinary knight like me. Why, her beauty and youth would be wasted on I, who am a coarse, unrefined…"

"Enough," another interrupted. He flashed a grin at Dark, who instantly took to him. "No more wine for you; you're becoming maudlin. Say," he shot at Dark, "where do you come from? I have yet to see anyone with hair and eyes like yours."

Dark smiled politely. "I was born in the eastern lands."

Yet another man interrupted the conversation. "I hear the king's knight will also be part of the tournament tomorrow," he said. "'Tis said that he is a fine jouster, and a paragon of virtue."

"'Tis also said that he is as beautiful as any damsel," someone else contributed. The entire table burst into raucous laughter. Sensing that there was no more to be learned and feeling the beginnings of a headache, Dark excused himself and returned to his rooms.

**Second day of March:**

He stood in the baking sun, wishing that he were once more in the colder climates of the Austrian Empire, where at least cooking to death in one's armour was impossible. Around him, knights jostled to see the dais on which the king and his family would sit, eager to catch a glimpse of the famed ruler who had brought prosperity and riches to the kingdom.

After the customary speech and announcement of the rules of the tournament, the princess herself came forward. Dark felt his heart skip a beat, and suddenly, underneath that hot sun, he realized the true meaning of love. It was as though the sun itself had become brighter, the heat more welcome and the tournament merely another challenge for the heart of a beautiful damsel.

**Three hours later:**

Dark smirked; he had already made it through to the quarter-finals, having defeated five men easily enough. He snuck a glance around at the others who had successfully defeated all their opponents and raised an eyebrow at the coats-of-arms on some of the shields. He recognized the three lions of Sir Jean-Paul de la Verre, the rearing unicorn of General Zechs Marquis and the blue wolf's head of Duke Somuku Kanou. However, his own shield garnered just as much attention; an eagle with its wings spread wide as though about to soar upwards into the sky.

"Sir Mousy, it is a fine day for jousting, that indeed it is."

"A good day to you too, Sir Himura. Your skill remains as impeccable as ever."

"Please, you are too kind." The redheaded knight smiled up at him. "I notice that your jousting has improved much. Why, I remember coming to court when you were just a lad and…"

"Of course," Dark hastily interrupted. Sir Himura was one of the kindest knights he knew, but his tendency to ramble often revealed embarrassing incidents that were best left alone whilst in the company of other knights. "So anyway, why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to see whether the king's court would be any more challenging, that indeed I did." The younger knight grinned.

"And did you see anyone promising?"

Sir Himura gave his usual smile, the one that tricked many knights and bandits alike into thinking that he was perfectly harmless. "That indeed I did. But I do not know his name." They were interrupted by the entrance of a newcomer, covered in grime and dirt but with the light of triumph shining in his eyes. Dark took the opportunity to slip away and start a conversation with the other knights, trying to gauge their abilities and simply for the sheer pleasure of socializing. Unlike most knights, who lost any ability to make conversation after years of wandering through the better part of Europe, the purple-haired man enjoyed the opportunity to talk to someone.

The tournament was to last for days, as so many knights from all over the land had come to participate. Dark found most of his opponents fairly easy to defeat; it was all about timing. Moreover, many of them recognized his shield and already felt intimidated, especially the older ones, who knew better than to be cocky. Nevertheless, he still had his fair share of losses; just never enough to lose altogether. Then the day of the semi-finals came, and there were just eight knights left.

Dark frowned at one of the knights whom he had yet to fight. His shield was red, with a white flame in the centre. Despite all his questions, no one seemed to know who the mystery knight was; he vanished as soon as he was treated by the healers, and did not seem to enjoy talking. The amethyst-eyed man could not wait to find out.

Back at the inn, gossip was rife. Many of the knights who had lost during the earlier stages had gone to The Stallion to buy a drink, and people were already exchanging bets on who would win. To his surprise, Dark found that the unknown knight was a favourite; it appeared that he had a special technique which allowed him to stay mounted in spite of the force behind any lance which struck him. Joining a table of card players, the knight smoothly inserted himself into the conversation. "So no one knows who the knight with the red shield is?"

"His helmet's never off, not even when he's being treated," Sir Kyouhei Takano growled, cursing loudly as a barmaid attempted to drape herself over him for the fifth time that night, and as Sir Shishido grinned and revealed his winning hand. "Anyhow, I don't care what he looks like; he jousts well, far better than some of these guys do." He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender as the entire table glared at him.

"Oh?" Dark asked. Right there and then, he decided that he would catch a glimpse of the mystery knight's face, or at least discover his true identity.

Sir Shishido suddenly turned a fierce gaze on Dark, although whether this was because of the alcohol or because of his naturally forceful personality, the older knight was not sure. "What about you?" He demanded brusquely. "You're the only one here who got further than the second round." Everyone at the table winced, not wanting to remember their humiliation at the hands of various knights. Dark laughed and shrugged off the question.

"Well, you know what the Spears of Heaven training is like—"

He was immediately hit by a barrage of questions, many of the knights wanting to know more about the second most famous order within Europe, and only avoided an interrogation due to a brawl amongst some drunken card players who crashed into the table and nearly crushed Sir Yukiya in the process and catching Sir Ougi off guard, causing the former to burst into apology and the latter to join the skirmish.

**Final day:**

Even Dark was starting to grow restless. He knew that he had plenty of time to get to Italy, but this tournament had been dragging on for far too long. He tried to summon up a memory of the princess' beauty, but it seemed to flicker only at the edges of his thoughts. He remembered a quick glimpse of brown eyes and chestnut hair, but he knew that she was no longer a reason for his coming here. Nevertheless, he was still curious about the mystery knight; curious enough to persevere. He knew that they would meet; he didn't want to leave without seeing the man's face; but he also wanted to talk to the other. In his experience and within the Order, Dark knew that networking was the key to success and information. Hearing the roar of anticipation from the crowd outside, Dark quickly moved to the back of the tent and mounted Phantom, who was already dancing with excitement.

"On this side," the king's referee announced loudly, pointing at Dark, "I have Sir Dark Mousy, General of the Order of the Spears of Heaven." The crowd cheered, although the knight knew that he could have done better. Nevertheless, he raised the visor of his helmet and turned to wave at the crowd, causing the cheer to rise a little in volume. Smiling, he waited for the referee to announce the name and title of the 'Flame Knight'. At least he would know the other's name.

"On my right, I have Crown-Prince Daisuke Niwa, heir to the throne." The crowd roared its approval once more, this time much more whole-heartedly, and Dark peered through the slits of his visor, straining to catch a glimpse of the other's face. However, the prince did not raise his visor at all, instead turning to wave at the people. The purple-eyed general could see that even on the dais, the royal family was smiling with pride. _A fine day to meet, _Dark thought, although still a little disappointed that he had not seen more of the other's face.

The two opponents remained at opposite ends of the field, sizing each other up. To Dark's surprise, the prince betrayed no uneasiness; his horse remained perfectly steady. He grinned immediately; most of the nobility was nervous around men of his Order, simply because of their allegiance to no ruler save their own High Commander. The red cloth signaling the beginning of the first round flashed past the corner of his eye, and Dark immediately spurred Phantom on. He saw Daisuke coming closer, and closer, and then with an almighty crash their lances slammed straight into each others' shields. The general felt himself sway precariously, but he remained perfectly balanced. The Flame Knight, on the other hand, did not fare so well. It appeared that his lance had shattered upon impact.

After fresh lances had been issued, the two charged at each other once more, the round ending with Daisuke falling off his horse for the first time. The helmet rolled off his head as the prince landed and Dark nearly fell off his horse in shock. Where he had expected to see a man with fiercer features, he instead saw a youth with wide crimson eyes and equally red hair to match.

The rest of the match should never have happened. Dark, so stunned by the beauty of the youth across the field, could no longer concentrate. As he fell off his horse for what seemed like the third time, he wryly reflected that Commander Krad had been right; his focus needed honing. On the other hand, the prince seemed genuinely startled by the sudden lack of resistance from his opponent, and jumped off his own charger, holding out a hand to the general.

Daisuke wasn't happy. He enjoyed jousting; to him every new opponent was a challenge. This tournament had exposed him to a number of other knights from every station in life, and the prince was glad for the secret of his identity until the final fight; this way at least he knew that every knight who faced him was whole-heartedly fighting for a prize. He had expected the one to finally face him to be the greatest challenge yet, and the first round had proven that his opponent was no mean jouster, with his accurate aim and just the right amount of force. Moreover, anyone from the Spears of Heaven was bound to be skilled; rumour had it that they trained atop mountains to improve their stamina and breathing patterns, and everyone knew for a fact that those in the Order were trained from childhood. So why was this general, who was considered better than anyone else, so _weak_?

"Get up," Daisuke heard himself order. When Dark did not move, the younger man leaned down and yanked the other man up to a sitting position. "I said, get up!"

Any illusions Dark might have harboured about the prince were immediately shattered at the anger in the other's voice. "What's all this about?" He asked deceptively mildly as he pushed the hand aside and stood up on his own. "Why are you so angry?" Yanking the helmet off his head, the purple-haired knight stood there, glaring at the prince. Status be damned; there was no need to get so agitated over a jousting match!

"You're not fighting properly!"

Dark smiled coolly. "Shouldn't you be happy? You're the winner. You get to brag about beating a general from the Spears of Heaven."

The redhead scowled once more and yanked off his helmet. He leaned closely towards Dark, standing on his toes to meet the other's eyes squarely. "Because I don't care if I win! It's a competition, so you're supposed to fight with everything you have!"

In spite of the other's anger and his own irritation, Dark felt himself growing hot, and it wasn't because of the infernal heat either. "Look, I lost focus. So what?" A slap rang through the air, and the amethyst-eyed knight was sure that he wasn't the only one taken aback. He hastily touched his cheek and winced; that was definitely going to leave a mark, and a painful one at that. Even Daisuke himself looked a little shocked at what he had done.

"Your Highness." Both knights turned to look at the blue-haired squire who had somehow managed to appear without either of them noticing. "May I be so bold to suggest that you leave this quarrel?" With an offended look at Dark, Daisuke stalked off. The general took the opportunity to leave, but found that the squire, in addition to a demeanour bordering on frozen, also had a grip of solid steel, much like Sergeant Walker's claw.

**A few days later:**

Dark heard the door open and looked at the servant who had brought him his meals. Although he was not in prison (thankfully), he was still virtually locked in the castle; the servants and guards all had strict orders not to let him pass the gates, and to watch him closely whenever he was in the courtyard. "Look, can you just let me out of here? I'm sure his Ladyship isn't just keeping me around for decoration."

Of course, the answer was no, with an additional reprimand for implying that Daisuke was anything but a man. Sighing, the general looked out of the window and decided immediately that he was going to leave the castle tonight, come hell or high water. Kanda would have probably started off on his journey by now, and Milan had enough delights to last him for a week. The Italians were always so much more…accommodating…than the French. The only reason he hadn't already left was because of his curiosity, yet again. Dark had wanted to see what the redheaded prince would do to him; demand a rematch, most likely; but the other had made no move to approach him. The general had had enough.

**That night:**

Daisuke tossed and turned in his bed, unable to fall asleep. The general; Dark Mousy, it seemed his name was; had gradually invaded his thoughts. Satoshi had been kind enough to hold the other in the castle until Daisuke could ask for a rematch, but the redhead could not bring himself to do so. He was afraid that upon seeing the other knight, he would turn a shade of crimson only ever attained by his playmate and friend, Lord Raberba Winner. It didn't help, either, that he had always admired the Order of the Spears of Heaven, and as a child had dreamed of being chosen to train with the likes of Duke Kudou and Sir Hidaka. The general appeared to be everything a knight of the Order was supposed to be; dashing, handsome and certainly not stupid. The redhead flushed and swallowed hard; he was not supposed to be thinking these thoughts! Rolling out of bed and shivering slightly in the cool night air, he decided to go to the kitchens. Perhaps Kento, the chef, would have something left out for anyone who desired food in the middle of the night.

Dark froze at the sound of footsteps. It had been child's play to break out of his room, as he had thought, but it hadn't occurred to him that there might have been someone still awake at this hour.

"Who's there?" Daisuke called. "Show yourself!"

The general groaned inwardly. _He'd better not try and _find _me._ He suddenly turned pale as something moved swiftly in front of him, and only just managed to dodge the blow that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Idiot," he snapped in a whisper, throwing a punch of his own that collided with the darkness and threw it backwards, into a patch of light streaming in through the window slit. "Your Highness?" He asked incredulously.

The redhead stood up quickly, fists ready and body tensed. "General Mousy?" He asked. Then a surprisingly devilish smile floated across his features for a split second before it returned to its angry gaze. "What are you doing at this hour?"

"Escaping. What else?" Dark was slightly worried about the expression he had just seen cross Daisuke's face, but he rationalized that the flicker had been just because of the dim light.

The prince smiled. "All right," he conceded. "But you have to promise me one thing."

Dark gaped at him, but at the same time a small part of the general could not but admire the élan that the prince had. "You lock me up in your castle for three days without even coming to see me once, you insult me, and you want to ask a _favour _of me?" At the unwavering crimson gaze, Dark found himself blinking slightly. Nevertheless, he continued to smile, knowing that the best way to throw an opponent off guard was to smile. Besides, the prince was probably used to having his own way. It wouldn't harm him to know that there were people out there who would oppose him.

_At least he has the decency to blush, _the general thought wryly as Daisuke flushed. _And I have to admit, he does look rather fetching like that, especially in his night shirt_. Dark had no qualms about thinking of men as being attractive; the Order had never reinforced the idea of homosexuality being wrong, and in any case, the Greeks hadn't seemed to mind at all. "So what is this favour of yours?' He moved closer to Daisuke, intending to catch the other unaware.

His tactic worked. "Y-y-you have to…um…" The redhead fidgeted. "You have to give me a rematch!" He blurted out. Dark brows rose as Dark considered the idea.

"Is that it?"

Regaining some semblance of control, Daisuke met the other's gaze, forcing himself not to look away or think that the other knight was quite attractive in his own way. "No. But you have to promise me this favour! The other one is linked, so you have to promise me first before I tell you the other half of the condition."

Dark thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Why not?"

Daisuke didn't reply. Curiosity warred with the fear of doing something that would be considered high treason within Dark, and finally the general nodded once. The prince smiled. "You have to take me with you."

That did it. "I don't have time for this," the general sighed before turning to leave.

"You promised!" The prince protested.

"No, I did not." Dark smiled. "I swore no oath. There is no promise. I owe you nothing." Without a backward glance, he left the castle before he could snap and kidnap the younger man, or do something that he would sorely regret later on. Nevertheless, he wished that they could have met under more fortunate circumstances; he wanted to know just exactly how much of a virgin Daisuke Niwa, Crown-Prince of France, was.

**Six years later:**

Dark sighed and pushed the veil out of his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time. The sun here was even stronger than in France or Italy, and the dry desert did nothing to help alleviate the heat. "Why do we have to come out here?" He asked his implacable guide. The other merely grunted into the desert sands and the general sighed. He seriously hoped that Al-Din Nassar had a good reason for demanding that someone higher than an ordinary agent from the Spears of Heaven meet him.

"Welcome." Dark frowned; he knew that voice from somewhere. An old memory stirred, but the dust of time weighed too heavily on it and he shook his head, trying to clear it of the fog that had surrounded his thoughts ever since he had begun traveling through the desert. "I trust you had a good journey?" Looking up, Dark froze. Sitting next to Nassar was Prince Daisuke Niwa. "General Dark." He smiled, and in spite of himself, the general felt a shiver go up his back and he unconsciously licked his lips at the thought of meeting the prince of France once more. Time had only improved Daisuke's grace, and where he had still been a little awkward, six years had smoothed out any minor defects which remained in the young man's bearing. He now carried himself like a true king.

"Greetings, Prince Niwa," he softly said. "May the sun shine upon your days, and may you always find water and shade." It was the traditional greeting of the desert tribes.

Daisuke turned to speak to the guards behind him, instructing them to leave the tent. Dark shifted uneasily, fervently praying that the other would not suddenly challenge him to a private duel or something foolishly dangerous. The memory of their last encounter was still fresh in his mind, and Dark did not think that the prince was one to lose focus so easily.

"You owe me a duel," the redhead said finally.

The general wondered whether it was possible to scream at the prince and still get away with it. Reining his temper in, he smiled as politely and blandly as he could in the circumstances. "You wish to call in my debts now, your Highness?"

"Yes. And I believe there is still an unfinished matter regarding a promise you made to me six years ago."

Dark blinked. "What promise?" He raised an eyebrow as the prince rose from his chair and walked over. "I am afraid I do not understand, your Highness." He bowed once more to show his regret, but the redhead smiled once more.

"Rise, General Mousy," he said. "You may yet make amends for your broken promise."

Dark was baffled. When had he ever made a promise to the prince of France, the Crown-Prince no less? Seeing the older man's confusion, Daisuke sighed to himself. "You will travel with me as a companion, and be at my side at all times."

"What?" Dark jerked up in spite of himself and stared at the prince. "Have you gone mad, your Highness?" He demanded bluntly. Tact had never been his strong point, save for when he was trying to explain to a noblewoman exactly why he had to leave her behind. "I am a general, a general of the Spears of Heaven! You are a Crown-Prince, valued and beloved by all your people. Do not think to associate with a man far below your position, and still escape with an intact reputation. Tongues will wag, and whether you care or no, my work depends on my position and there are few others who could carry it out equally well."

Those crimson eyes lit up and in spite of the angelic smile that graced Daisuke Niwa's face, Dark could read determination in the other's eyes and knew that he would have to fight to keep his freedom. "Oh, do not mistake me, Dark," the prince purred. The amethyst-eyed man shivered slightly at the sound and was grateful for the utter privacy of the tent. "I am not asking you to leave your job. I am merely asking you to accompany me on my travels. Documents can be read in any country, I believe, and I will not interfere with your private life overmuch. You will even be paid from the coffers of the royal palace. A singularly simple task, no?" Dark had to admit that the offer sounded appealing. Nevertheless, he glared stubbornly, refusing to give in.

"I do not believe that you will find my presence a greater help than that of your chief strategist's, or your squire's."

"But I do, and my opinion is the only one that counts," the prince pointed out quite reasonably. Dark wished fervently that Krad were here; the blond would soon have Daisuke sorted out and put this ridiculous notion of making Dark his 'traveling companion' out of the younger man's mind. However, that treacherous voice within him whispered that he had little to lose, and as the prince's appointed traveling companion, he would have access to more information more easily.

Daisuke smiled and gently leaned closer, so that his breath brushed gently across the soldier's neck. Even in the oppressive heat and stuffiness of the tent, the purple-haired man could not repress a shudder. The treacherous voice grew louder, whilst his reason seemed to retreat into a dark corner of his mind. To his dismay, he opened his mouth and heard the words coming out of it as in a dream. "Yes," he replied. "I accept your generous offer."

That scheming expression disappeared, now replaced by a genuine smile of warmth, the one that most rulers saw and marveled at. Even Dark himself, who had just witnessed the man's ability to manipulate others into agreeing, felt more at ease now than he had done throughout the course of their meeting. "Thank you," Daisuke whispered as he stood on his toes once more and brushed a kiss across the knight's lips. Stepping back in hasty surprise, the general only barely managed to restrain himself from lashing out at the Niwa.

"What are you doing?" He whispered in shock, remembering that there were probably guards outside the tent, and at the first sign of trouble they would not hesitate to pull the tent curtains apart and enter. He did not want to be hauled off for corrupting the prince, nor did he want to be excommunicated and killed for sodomy. The general cursed his impetuousness once more; Krad had always said that that attribute would be his downfall.

"I know what you want," Daisuke whispered softly once more, his eyes large and almost luminous in the dim light. "I saw the way you looked at me that night." Dark couldn't say anything, rooted to the ground with his thoughts whirling about like some spinning top gone mad. "You want me, don't you?"

Dark could only attempt to stammer out a clumsy reply, but was cut off once more by the feeling of Daisuke's lips pressing against his once more, this time a little more fiercely. "Isn't it…?" The knight attempted to ask, only to be cut off once more. As he felt Daisuke guiding him backwards, he vaguely wondered when he had ever thought that the prince of France was innocent; there was no way on earth he could have possibly planned this out.

"You're mine," Daisuke whispered as he happily nuzzled the crook between Dark's shoulder and neck.

_Well, as my mentor used to say…carpe diem,_ the knight thought before responding to the other's advances, kissing him fiercely. Outside, the guards stood, oblivious to what was going on inside the tent.

_Fin_

* * *

Now I know what people mean when they say that the story 'grew a life of its own'. This one evolved as I went through and it was only when I got to the 'six years later' part that I realized that Dark might not be so…Dark in this one. And I started this fic thinking that Dark would win the tournament and ask for Daisuke instead, but somehow that idea went pear-shaped on me too. But I guess I'm pretty happy with the result.

Have a great Chinese New Year, everyone! Thank you for reading!


	20. A Greek Fairytale

**A Greek Fairytale:**

Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel.

Warnings: …I like to think this is for anyone who's accustomed to shounen-ai…so…G ? Nah, I think I'll put PG-13 just in case someone decides to flame me for putting 'inappropriate' material here (although why they didn't read the summary first beats me). So PG-13 it is. Oh, and get your dentist; there be enough syrupy, gooey sweetness here to give the most dour of us toothache.

A/N: Um...this is a fic that's been sitting on the computer for the longest time ever, so I just decided to finish it. Anyhow, have fun reading it! Happy Easter everyone! 

Notes on the text:

In Greek mythology, Nyx is a _goddess_. Not a god. So for the purposes of this fanfic, I have changed her gender.

I don't know how the gods would have addressed each other, seeing as they were all pretty much equal. So I've just used their names.

Each god has two names, to make the fanfic more entertaining. Each god has an 'official' name i.e. Apollo, Artemis, Nyx etc., and an 'unofficial' name i.e. Ken, Dark, Omi etc.

* * *

Hermes, known to most of Mount Olympus as Ken Hidaka, trembled at the sight of the forbidding dark gates which led into Nyx's palace. The surprisingly morbid Persephone would have died of joy to have entered this place, but not Ken. He preferred the good, wholesome sun, thank you very much. Nevertheless, he was here to deliver a message from Zeus himself, and he did not think that Nyx would come out here to accept the message personally. He was a rather mercurial personality, after all, and it was said that even Zeus and Poseidon themselves secretly feared the god of night.

Ken half-expected to see Cerberus' brother, or maybe twin, pounce out of nowhere. Instead, he was greeted by a dark, feathery sort of creature that had a cold, wet nose and large eyes. It chirped once, and suddenly the messenger god found himself in a large, dark hall with imposing pillars. He shifted uneasily, the golden wings on his sandals glowing only faintly now that he was in the Realm of the Night.

"What brings you here, Hermes?" Ken whipped around to see Nyx leaning casually on the arm of his throne, amethyst eyes amused.

"Message for you," he stated calmly. "It's from Zeus."

Nyx's smile only grew wider at that. "What, the king wishes me to entertain him once more?" Hermes could not but feel that there was something horrifyingly improper about the god's smile, and subconsciously took a step backwards from the dais. "Why, Ken," the purple-haired man said, standing up and making his way down the stairs with the grace of a large cat. "Why so…wary? Aren't we friends?"

"Zeus wishes to see you in his palace, as quickly as you can get there. He wishes to discuss a matter concerning Earth with you. If you please, your reply, Nyx?"

"Hmm…" Nyx tapped his chin thoughtfully, pretending to think. "I'll tell you my reply…provided you call me Dark for once. It's so annoying, what with all these titles and names and things." Hermes stiffened slightly, uncomfortable with the prospect of having to call someone so unpredictable and powerful as Nyx by his personal name. Sensing hesitation, the god of night pressed his case further. "Oh, but Kenken, you have no problems referring to Yohji or Omi by their first names, do you?"

Hermes sighed and sidestepped the hand that was likely to follow such a blatant comment. "Your reply, please," he doggedly repeated. "It is of the utmost importance, and I have other gods to ask too."

"Oh?" The purple-haired god's eyebrow rose. "Is it of such importance that Zeus would have all of us gathered into his palace, sending poor little Keita into a frenzy?"

Ken wanted to smack the infuriating god, but withheld from doing so, knowing that the act would only result in a less than pleasant experience. Sometimes, he wondered whether it would be better to just go to Earth and hide himself there. Humans could not be as bad as gods, after all, seeing as they had less time. "Athena will be there," Ken said, knowing that any mention of the goddess would immediately attract Nyx. Rumour had it that the god had special feelings for the warrior goddess.

"Well, since you put it so nicely, I don't see why not." The brown-haired messenger god inwardly praised himself for this ingenuity. "I shall come with you." _Oh, for the love of…_ "I don't think you would be very interested in hearing the same message repeatedly," Ken hastily said.

"Why? Are you going to indulge in a little ritual with Yohji?" Ken inwardly swore to stomp on his own shadow as soon as he got the chance; that was the only way Nyx could possibly know about his relationship with Dionysus. "Well, well," the other said, patting his head as he would a small child's. "I'll be on my way, then."

Nyx was more than surprised to arrive at Zeus' palace, only to find that there was no one but the god himself. Even redheaded Keita was gone; rather a disappointment. "Zeus, I believe there was a meeting at which you desired my presence?"

"There wasn't." As usual, the god kept his back turned, preferring to face the glorious view of Greece instead of his visitor. "I merely told Hermes to inform you that there was, so as to give you a greater sense of importance."

"How kind of you to consider my feelings," Nyx dryly replied. "What do you want me to do this time?" Zeus paused for a moment, clearly trying to find the proper words for his request. The god of night sighed and looked at the shadows gathered around him, absently swirling patterns with them and admiring the clean darkness of the soft-as-silk matter.

"I want you to keep an eye on Daisuke Niwa. He lives in a village at the foot of Mount Aracynthus, with his parents." Nyx vaguely wondered whether Zeus had ever considered disguising himself as one of the assassin chiefs he had heard about, those who had a number of people doing the dirty work. Killing was a nasty business; look at what had happened to Osiris over in Egypt. Now, _that _was what he called thorough. Seth certainly hadn't spared any efforts to keep his brother dearest dead. In any case, Zeus could have certainly passed for a crime lord, what with his cool, businesslike manner and icy efficiency. "Keep him well away from Aphrodite, if you don't mind. She's got her heart set on him, and she's under strict orders not to use her powers. So if she shows up, you show up."

Nyx was about to protest when he was cut off. "Do it."

Dark bowed deeply, mocking the other gods who actually did respect their leader properly. "My pleasure." In a swirl of midnight black and deepest blue, he vanished.

**Daisuke:**

Daisuke carefully trilled another long string of notes on his wooden pipes, delighting in the way such little effort could produce such music and hoping that the sound would satisfy his 'teacher'. Beside him, Chihaya nodded approvingly. "You're getting better!" The dark-haired boy cheerfully told his friend.

"Really?" Crimson eyes widened in delight. "I'll keep practicing, then!" He promised. The other boy merely smiled.

"But you'll have to get the sheep back, first."

"Eh?" With a start, Daisuke turned to see hills of hard brown and green where there had once been white. He realized then that the white cloud on the next hill was not merely a cloud; it was his flock of sheep. "Aaaaahhhhh!" With a yelp, he dashed off still holding the pipes, leaving a rather bemused Chihaya behind. _There's no need to panic so,_ the older boy thought wryly before turning to check that his own sheep were still present.

**Nyx:**

The first thing that greeted Nyx's eyes as he appeared on Earth was a familiar figure. She had long flowing brown hair and brown eyes today, and looked much younger than she normally did. The god of night sighed. "Aphrodite."

The girl whirled around, eyes wide with surprise. Upon seeing who it was, she merely giggled and swayed over. Nyx sighed. "You're not supposed to be looking at anyone or using your powers. That's what Zeus says."

She gazed at him innocently. "Why, Dark," she giggled, "I don't know what you mean."

"Just because you want to look younger doesn't mean that you'll be any more appealing in this form." He dodged the swiftly aimed lash of power that she directed towards him and quickly wrapped the tendril of air in shadow, smiling at the look of thwarted fury on her face. For someone who was supposed to be the goddess of love and beauty, she could sometimes be awfully childish. "Go home," Dark brusquely said. "You'll not be misbehaving here."

"So I can misbehave somewhere else?" Dark ignored the question and walked off, deciding that the only way to keep Risa away from Daisuke was to actually guard the boy, not just try and reason with her. Aphrodite could be stubborn at times; not unlike Riku.

Dark blinked at the mass of white up ahead of him. Remembering that Daisuke Niwa was a shepherd's son, he sighed and made his way towards the white, praying that he would at least be attractive.

As he neared, he caught a flash of red bobbing around, flapping at the sheep. Occasionally one would let out a bleat of protest, but nevertheless it seemed as though the blob was as good as nonexistent.

Dark swallowed hard and looked up at the sky hastily just in case that nosy Apollo was right above him, laughing himself silly at the reins of his gaudy golden chariot. _I bet he's busy with Hyacinthus, _he spitefully thought, wondering whether pulling a Hephaestus (1) on the pair would be possible. Then he saw Daisuke.

_Good Olympus, why do all the most handsome youths have to be _humanDark thought as he approached the little shepherd. "Good day," he greeted the other politely, hoping that he didn't seem too suspicious.

"Who are you?" Daisuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously, making him resemble an angry squirrel. Dark blinked, then smiled and held his empty hands up for the other to see.

"Don't worry," he told the boy. "Your sheep don't hold any interest for me. But you're not doing a very good job with them, are you?" At the crestfallen look on the other's face, he quickly added, "I'll help you round them up, if you want."

"Leave them," Daisuke said. "Are you looking for the village?"

_Ah, so he's not as dense as the average villager. Good. _"Well, I'm actually looking for someone."

"Mm…" Daisuke was once again absorbed in his sheep, merely nodding in response to the other's replies. Dark sighed. _Well, maybe not._

"I'm looking for someone called Daisuke Niwa," Nyx continued. "Do you know him?"

"That's me," Daisuke replied, a little puzzled at the nonchalant way the other had brought up the subject. "I don't know you though," he added, frowning a little. His hand tightened on the sling.

Dark noticed this and shook his head, smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You must allow me to help." Daisuke slowly backed away, crimson eyes wary. He remembered tales of roaming bandits who often pretended to be friendly and lured away innocent people with tales of an injured friend, or set up false encounters that lured people into a false sense of security. The purple-haired man sighed. "Look, I'll show you a trick to make the sheep follow you, okay?" He paused for a moment. "Do you have a set of pipes?"

Daisuke slowly held the wooden instrument out, wondering whether he might have encountered a madman instead. Dark gave him an amused look, as though he knew what the younger was thinking, before taking the pipes and placing them to his lips. He smirked to himself, remembering just how much work it had taken for Pan to even consider teaching him anything remotely musical on the Pan pipes, let alone a musical spell.

Two minutes later, all suspicions aside, Daisuke was gaping at the stranger. The sheep were back to where they had started, grazing peacefully. "How did you do that?"

"I'll show you…when there are no sheep around." Dark handed the instrument back to Daisuke, who carefully tucked it in his belt and slowly turned to go. Taking the other's silence as a yes, Nyx followed.

Chihaya smiled at Dark. "The village is that way," he pointed. "Do you need someone to go with you?"

Dark hesitated for a moment, but then remembered Zeus' words. As much as he disliked following direct commands, he did not want to get into another feud with the god. He had had enough of wars, especially after that fiasco in Troy. He grinned at the thought of seeing Odysseus when the man entered the Underworld; it was fun talking to him. At least he had brains and a good sense of humour. "That would be nice." Chihaya smiled and gently pushed Daisuke forward.

The pair walked back to the village in silence, Daisuke feeling somewhat awkward and Dark more than happy to examine the other in peace. _Why does Zeus want to keep Aphrodite away from him? _He didn't think the self-proclaimed king of the gods was particularly interested in the redhead anyway; he had his own little pet to see to. So why would he want Nyx, of all people, to watch over this boy?

Daisuke felt slightly resentful as he walked along the familiar path back home. Why did he have to be the one to accompany Dark back home if Chihaya said so? It really wasn't fair. "You're right," Dark suddenly said. "It's not fair."

"Why are you here?" Daisuke asked again. "Why are you looking for me?" Dark decided that he clearly wasn't getting enough sleep. If he had let something that important slip, he would more than likely be imprisoned somewhere in the Underworld for a week or two.

"Ah, did I say that?" He looked mildly surprised.

"Yes, you did."

Dark shook his head. "No, I never said that." Daisuke glared at him stubbornly, whilst Nyx simply shook his head and gave him a pitying smile.

_Has he forgotten? _Daisuke wondered incredulously. "Did you forget or something?"

Dark smiled. "Maybe I did." The redhead inwardly groaned. He wasn't normally prickly like Krad, the local doctor, but this man just irritated him with his cocky manner and over-familiarity.

They stopped in front of an inn, Daisuke looking up expectantly at Dark. "You can stay here," he bluntly said. Nyx nearly burst out laughing at the look of sulky irritation on the younger boy's face.

"You mean you're not going to invite me to your house?" He asked. This was a surprise; he would have expected Daisuke to invite him in, no matter how much he disliked the other. _Guess I made a mistake, _he thought. He smiled at the redhead carefully before stepping in. "Thank you." He snickered at the stunned look on Daisuke's face before letting the door close behind him.

**Next day:**

Dark wandered through the streets, glad to smell the fresh air after the tiny cramped room in the inn and the hot, stuffy dining area. A quick stop by the marketplace afforded him some lovely pieces of pottery for Aphrodite as an apology, and a necklace with a phallic design (the vendor claimed it was a Roman protection charm) made sure that Apollo's tastes would never be doubted ever again.

Interestingly enough, he thought he saw Daisuke at one of the numerous fruit stalls, accompanying an older woman who was obviously his mother. He smirked and headed over, at the same time wondering whether the redhead had told his parents of the new visitor.

The farmer looked at him closely. "You're not from around here, are you?" He asked casually. Dark shook his head. "I heard from the midwife this morning that you're here because you're looking for someone; that true?"

Dark smiled. "Maybe." He couldn't quite remember the story he'd put out last night, on account of the large, burly men surrounding him spilling beer all over the place. Nevertheless, it had been rather nice to see a pretty little thing serve him his beer and blush when he smiled at her instead of scowling. "How's business?"

The vendor shrugged. "As it always is. Who are you looking for?"

"Ah, can't tell you that." Dark grinned at the look of thwarted bewilderment on his face. "But I can tell you that I'm not some shady character exiled from the city, so don't worry." The man's big face split into a toothy grin and the purple-haired god smiled back. It was good to be somewhere where no one questioned your motives. Gossiped like farmwives, yes, but questioned, no.

"Haha, I like that. Here." The man tossed him an apple, which Dark quickly caught. "Have it. I've got plenty to spare."

"Thanks." Dark turned to leave, munching on the apple. _Not bad, _he decided. _Not bad at all._

Daisuke sighed and leaned back against the tree, staring up at the blue, blue sky. He loosely cradled the pipes in his hands, waiting for Chihaya to come so that he could return the instrument. The redhead wondered whether Dark had already forgotten about him. He scowled at the memory of the other's overconfidence and at the easy way in which he had handled the sheep, although he could not but wonder about his striking appearance.

Chihaya smiled at Daisuke, shaking his head and pushing the proffered pipes away. "You can keep them," he said cheerfully. "I can always get another set."

"But they're yours!" Daisuke protested.

The dark-haired shepherd smiled slyly, an expression that was almost alien on his features. "You know, I have a feeling you'll want to keep them." Daisuke stared.

"How did you know?" He finally asked when they found a suitable place to sit and watch the sheep.

Chihaya laughed. "I didn't. I just guessed." Daisuke scowled. "He's very good-looking though, isn't he?" The redhead didn't say anything, although it was uncomfortably close to what he had been thinking earlier.

"You sound like a girl," he giggled, trying to change the subject. Chihaya rolled his eyes, but still refused to take the pipes back.

"Is he nice, then?" Daisuke blinked. He knew it wasn't uncommon for men to like men, but it was strange being asked about such a thing.

"I…suppose," he slowly replied. "He said he'd teach me this trick with the sheep, but I guess he forgot."

As kind as he was, Chihaya wondered whether his friend was denser than the rest of the village, or whether he had recently suffered a blow to the head and forgotten the previous day's events. It had been known to happen every now and then, after all.

Dark made his way out of the village, heading towards the hills where he'd last met Daisuke. However, he did not expect Zephyr to suddenly drop down on him. "Greetings, Nyx!" The West Wind was unusually cheerful, something that rarely occurred nowadays.

"Shut it, windbag," The purple-haired man hissed. Zephyr pouted.

"I'm hurt, Nyx," he whined. "Why don't you play with me anymore?"

_Because Apollo already fought me once, and I have no desire to destroy my palace again. _"Because I'm working."

"What's so good about that redhead anyway?"

_He's actually intelligent. _"Zeus sent me to protect him from Aphrodite's tentacles. And between you and me, Zeph, I have no clue why." The wind deity gaped at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be one of the gods that even Zeus fears?"

"I wish."

"So you're just another lapdog then," Zephyr sighed, running fingers through his short pink hair.

"I'm not the one masquerading as some singer by day to avoid getting caught by Apollo."

"You're no fun. Come find me when you're done, and we can have some fun together, all right?" The pink-haired deity smiled sweetly and vanished in a light breeze, leaving Dark slightly more ruffled than he had been when he'd left his rooms.

**Daisuke:**

"I think I see someone," Chihaya sang happily. Daisuke hastily sat up and turned around, scanning the hilly landscape for any sign of another person besides himself and his friend.

"I don't see anyone." The black-haired shepherd giggled again.

The redhead turned around, expecting to see only rolling green hills, but instead noting a dark figure steadily heading towards them. Without knowing how, he knew that it was the man he'd met yesterday. And he still didn't know his name.

"Greetings," Chihaya chirped much too cheerfully for Daisuke's comfort. The stranger, who had by now arrived at the top of the hill, smiled in reply.

"Greetings to you too," Dark smiled. However, before Chihaya could say anything else, Daisuke quickly cut in.

"What's your name?" He asked, glaring challengingly at Dark.

"It's a little late to be asking that," the deity dryly replied. "But for the record, it's Dark Mousy."

"Why are you looking for me?" Dark inwardly cursed his stupidity.

"Just because." He smirked at the redhead, who merely scowled back. "Hey, don't do that." He poked Daisuke's face, relishing the look of irritation on those delicate features. "Your face will stick like that."

"I'm not a child."

"I never said you were."

"Then stop treating me like one!" Dark was about to say more when he heard laughter. Loud laughter. In fact, it sounded remarkably like…the gods themselves. _Laugh all you want, _he growled silently. _You'll be sorry when I get back._ Nevertheless, he could not shake off the feeling that this was a totally pointless task, seeing as Daisuke was so…uncooperative.

**Mount Olympus:**

"That was…surprisingly mean," Yoru commented. Zeus didn't bother turning around; instead, he smiled to himself.

"Nyx needs someone to keep him on his toes, not another mindless pretty face. Daisuke Niwa should do just fine…provided Cupid does his job properly." At that moment, Yoru could not help but pity the god of night. After all, when Zeus himself took an active interest in affairs, there really was only one outcome, and no matter how crafty or clever Nyx might think he was, he stood no chance against Chronos' son.

**Earth:**

Dark blinked as he saw a flutter of movement out of the corner of his eye. Even as he turned, he had a nasty feeling that he knew exactly what it was. His guess wasn't wrong, as he soon felt a gentle thud into his back and his eyes landed on Daisuke. He wished that he could strangle Cupid. Or, even better, Zeus himself.

Daisuke blinked as Dark turned an intense gaze onto him. Looking into the deep amethyst eyes, he suddenly felt as though he was staring at the star-sprinkled night sky, pulling him in. He swallowed hard and looked away, wondering why he suddenly felt more interested in this stranger than he had been before.

Chihaya looked from one to the other, wondering what had just passed between them. He was to hit upon the solution later that night, and could only giggle when he thought about it. After all, it certainly wouldn't be the first time two unwilling parties were brought together by Cupid's bow and arrows.

Dark wished he had something in his hands right now, to prevent them from fidgeting so much. He didn't know whether butterflies in the stomach were a customary sign of lovesickness, but if they were, he would certainly take it up with Aphrodite once he got back to Olympus. Right now, though, he would have to settle for winning Daisuke's affections, seeing as there wasn't any other place to go, and something told him that if he did not stay on Earth for at least seven days, he would be hard-pressed to find any peace up in his palace, or atop the mountain of the gods at least.

The next few days passed in a sort of haze, with Dark wanting to ask the Fates above just _why _he was running into Daisuke more and more frequently. First, he'd seen the youth at the market, talking to a few of his other friends. He'd brushed past the redhead whilst heading for the meeting square, looking for a game. He finally found himself staring down at Daisuke at his door early in the morning, before his 'guest' from the night before had had time to leave. "Who's that?" Daisuke asked upon catching a glimpse of the woman getting out of bed. "Is she your wife?"

"Er, no…" Dark groped for an appropriate explanation. "She's a friend."

"Oh." Daisuke's face suddenly darkened. "You'll get weird stuff from her, you know that?" Dark froze and turned slowly to look at the woman, who looked incredibly guilty.

Trying to remain calm, Dark turned to the redhead. "Er…weird stuff?"

Daisuke nodded cheerfully, ignoring the filthy look Dark's 'friend' shot him. "Yeah, Krad-he's a doctor, you know-treated these six guys with the same disease? Like, their…parts were all warty and itchy and red, and they all said they slept with her the night before. You should really go talk to him," the young man added to the woman.

Dark stared, wishing that Daisuke had not informed the entire inn of his…personal affairs. "All right, all right," he hastily told the other, ignoring the cheery smile on the other's face and completely missing the scheming glint in the redhead's eye. "You shouldn't talk about ladies like that…" He laughed awkwardly and abruptly stopped as the woman shoved past him and slapped Daisuke brutally in the face.

To his surprise (and grudging admiration), Daisuke did not retaliate. Instead, he looked up at the woman and said softly, "My mother taught me never to hit women."

The woman looked at Dark and smiled cruelly. "And here I was, thinking you like women. Have fun with your little bed partner." With those words she walked away, leaving a stunned Nyx and a bewildered Daisuke behind.

Dark somehow managed to get rid of the redhead and retreat to his room, immediately deciding to call on Cupid. The little idiot probably didn't have any idea of what he'd done, anyway. Reaching out with his power, he finally sensed Aphrodite's spawn in Corinth and he _yanked _with all his might, dragging the winged child into his room. "Cupid," he hissed venomously at the youth in front of him. "What on Earth did you do to me!"

Ayase looked up with wide eyes, tears already brimming up in them. "Nothing!" He yelped, frightened of the Lord of Night. "I didn't do anything to you!"

"So how do you explain your arrows smacking into me and Niwa?" The other angrily demanded. The blond gave another frightened sob.

"Mama told me to!"

"Oh, for the love of…" Dark growled and shifted uncomfortably. It appeared that Daisuke's information about the woman had not been inaccurate. "Look, why couldn't you just tell her no?"

Cupid swallowed hard. Dark raised an eyebrow. "I'm waiting."

"She threatened to leave me with Hades…" Dark stopped dead.

"WHAT!"

The younger boy swallowed hard, tears now flowing freely and creating a damp patch on the blankets. "She wanted to-to-leave me-w-with-H-Ha-Hades!"

"Why the ---- would she do that? She's in _love _with the man, she wouldn't want her son to take him!" Ayase stopped mid-sniffle, large blue eyes trained on the older god.

"She is?"

"Yeah." Dark regretted the lie, since everyone knew that Hades had been pursuing Cupid (and failing spectacularly) only for the last century or so. "Sure. She was just being mean. Now push off, and don't ruin my blankets anymore." He tried to gently move Ayase from the bed, but the god of love wasn't having any of it.

"No she doesn't! She called him a pig! Mama hates pigs!"

"Yeah?" Dark fixed the other with a glare. "Well, so do I. And I'm still eating pork." Ayase stared at Nyx in bewilderment until the older man sighed and stood up. "Bye."

Cupid stared at the closed door, still sniffling, and then smiled. It appeared that he was doing his job well.

**Daisuke:**

"Daisuke!" It was Chihaya. "I heard you told everyone about Miranda's…condition." The last few words were whispered in a scandalized tone.

"Mmm…I did." Daisuke stared at his best friend after Satoshi, unable to control himself anymore. "I don't know why! I just looked at the two of them, wondered why it couldn't…couldn't be me, and I just blurted out something mean!" He took a deep breath, unable to believe what he'd just said. Apparently, neither could Chihaya.

"Krad's livid. So are the…six patients. And their wives." Daisuke blushed hard and looked away.

"I…don't know what came over me." He abashedly said. Chihaya sighed.

"Well, you can go say sorry to Dark. And recommend him to Krad, who's great at treating…diseases."

**Three months later:**

Dark growled as he trudged up the hill, hoping that Zeus was laughing. Because it would be the last laugh he'd ever get for a long, long time. "ZEUS!" He howled upwards. "Yes, it's me, you manipulative, scheming excuse for a rat." To his surprise, the king of the gods appeared in front of him, dressed in little more than a chiton. "For the love of Olympus!" The god of night snarled. "Put something on!" Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Something decent," the other snapped.

Ignoring the fuming god in front of him, Zeus sighed. "Dark, I don't know what you've been up to, but—"

"Cut the horse dung," Dark interrupted. "I've been stuck here for _three lousy months_, keeping an eye on a youth who's not even being pursued any more! I want to go home!"

Zeus looked at him coolly. "Home?"

"Yes, home! Where I can sleep wrapped up in light shadows instead of itchy, flea-infested blankets. Where I don't have to worry about baking to death! Where people do not stare between my legs and ask if I'm doing all right!"

"So, are you doing all right?" Zeus interrupted.

"Someone helped me out. And for the record, Daisuke's planning something."

"Oh?"

"He's being coming to see me _every single day _since that…morning…at the Spartan Arms."

"What did you say?"

"The inn! The inn!" Dark was furious.

Zeus decided to make his opinion clear. "Look, Nyx, if you called me here just to moan about your…oh, my." Nyx turned around just in time to see Daisuke arrive, panting, at the foot of the admittedly tiny hill. From the looks of his face, it appeared that he, too, could see Zeus. Although interestingly enough, Dark noted, he wasn't burning up.

"I really must go, Keita awaits." With a quick look at Nyx, Zeus disappeared back into Olympus.

Dark scrambled down the hill and grabbed Daisuke, who was just turning to run away. "Daisuke!" He caught up to the other just in time and whipped him around, staring at the look of utter fury on the other's face. He winced at the sudden punch the shepherd threw and only narrowly avoided the follow-up blow to the stomach. "What on Olympus is wrong with you?" The god demanded. Any embarrassment or worry that the boy might have found out about his identity disappeared with the punches; no human he knew would dare hit a god.

"You!"

Nyx blinked. Turning his face to the sky, he sourly noted that Helios was _right above him_, and clearly watching the drama unfold. Even the blasted horses pulling the chariot seemed to be interested! "What?"

"You! It's all your fault that I'm acting like an idiot!"

"How am _I_ supposed to be responsible for _your_ stupidity?" Dark asked, baffled. His cheek was beginning to ache, and he knew that it would soon bruise if he didn't heal it right away. Then a tingle ran across his skin, and judging from the look on Daisuke's face, he had just healed himself. "And just _why _are you following me around?" His mind wandered idly as he waited for the other to stop spluttering and blushing. After a while, he decided that the shepherd was clearly not about to stop unless someone hurried him along. "You know, you're not that unattractive." He debated the merits of continuing, and then gave up. Anyhow, Takaya had always been better than him, though Zeus and Hera forbid that the younger god ever found out. It wouldn't do to swell his ego any further now, would it? "I'm sure you have young women-and men, I suppose-falling at your feet every morning."

Daisuke stared at the stranger in front of him, fighting and cursing the blush on his cheeks. Without thinking, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, you're not." He almost jumped as the purple-haired man growled, although it appeared that his eyes were looking somewhere else. Outrage skittered across his mind as he realized that the other probably hadn't been listening to him at all.

Even though he knew that Ayase had been forced to shoot him-them-with that blasted arrow, he couldn't help but curse the tiny god. Daisuke's blush suddenly began to look much more appealing than it first had, and the thin tunic he wore did little to hide his slender frame. He growled and blinked as Daisuke pulled a fist back as though to punch him again. Waiting until the last possible moment, the god grabbed the shepherd's fist in a firm grip and yanked the other towards him, pressing his lips firmly against Daisuke's and repressing a grin at the thought of the other's reaction.

Crimson eyes widened in shock as their owner realized that he was kissing another man. Not a nice village girl like he'd always imagined, but a _man_. A man who infuriated him to no end, and one who had featured in many of his thoughts since his sudden arrival. But that wasn't the frightening thing. Oh no; it was the fact that it wasn't half as bad as he thought it would be. In fact, it was strangely…exhilarating. He tingled all over, and heat spread across his skin as he groaned slightly and felt his legs wobble precariously. He heard a small, strange noise and almost gasped when he realized that had been his voice. Suddenly the gentle pressure on his lips and the warmth inside his mouth pulled away, and he clung desperately onto the other's arms, looking up into dancing amethyst.

Dark smirked down at his prize, although he still promised to make Aphrodite and Cupid's lives misery as soon as he returned to Olympus. Perhaps he could leave Cupid with Hades for fifty years or so; the god of death would certainly thank him for that, and perhaps even Ayase after he finally saw the other's true feelings. Although his density was rivaled only by that of Takaya's, and that was certainly saying something. For now, though, pesky mother and son could wait; Dark fully intended to enjoy his shepherd. It had been a while since he'd had this much fun, and he was sure that Fuji would enjoy being the lord of night for a little while longer. Besides, Daisuke didn't seem to be resisting too hard.

1. Hephaestus: Reference to legend of Aphrodite's marriage to the supposedly hideous smith-god. The goddess of love did not enjoy his company, and had an affair with Ares, god of war. Hephaestus, suspecting something, made a net of wire so fine that no one could see it, and trapped the pair in it, calling all the gods to see their treachery. However, the gods laughed at him and called him a fool for showing everyone how he had been cuckolded.

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Thank you for reading! 


	21. The Curious Case of Daisuke Niwa

**The Curious Case of Daisuke Niwa:**

Disclaimer: DN Angel does not belong to me.

Warnings: AU, shounen-ai, general weirdness, copious pop-culture references, violence

A/N: This just popped into my head and I figured I may as well get it down before the idea mutated and turned into something worse.

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Hi. I'm Dark Mousy and I'm a demon-hunter. That is, I hunt demons for a living. There's this society called the Demon Hunters' Association (DHA), and every month we get together to discuss various ways of killing things that go bump in the dark over tea and cake. They do some great seminars too, on things such as 'How to identify a ghoul', and 'What to do when otherworldly creatures start crawling out of your television'…ah, who am I kidding. It's like Halloween every day, only the monsters are real and there will be no 'treats' at the end of the night except good night's sleep provided you've given it good and hard to the beastie early enough to get the recommended seven hours' sleep. What…? Oh, you sick puppy. That is absolutely disgusting. No way on earth would I do that!

There is, however, an international NGO (non-governmental organization, aren't I the clever one?) called the Demon Hunters' Association. In case you didn't get the memo, yes, it is dedicated to keeping innocent civilians safe from ghouls, monsters and other such things. There are a few agents stationed in every town and quite a few hiding out in cities for various reasons. Just so you know, I've lived here in Japan my whole life, and boy is it haunted. Any agent will tell you that there are way fewer evil creatures wandering around the United States and other 'younger' countries simply because, well, there hasn't been enough _time_ for evil to really fester and mutate and turn into something strong enough to dish out some serious harm. Yes, I know the people manning the Winchester house would beg to differ but don't worry, it's safe. Except for the roaches in the basement, but that's not really my area of expertise and I'd take the roaches over an angry demon any day.

As anyone with half a brain cell's worth of common sense will agree, it is much safer for agents to work in pairs, or small teams depending on the job and the size of the area haunted. It's all very well sending one agent out when it's just a rowdy little poltergeist who's having a little too much fun at some poor homeowner's expense, but when things start getting rough, an extra pair of hands is never unwelcome.

You see, a few months back, my partner Shiryu done gone and got hitched to another agent by the name of Seiya. Moved up to Canada and everything. I attended the wedding. A few days after what I affectionately call 'The Great Beaver Incident of 2010' (if I told you, I'd have to kill you), I got the call from the Osaka branch of DHA, telling me to head up and see if there was anyone who caught my eye. So I packed my bags and made my way up to the big city for a week or so, just to make sure I found a suitable partner. Adjustment period and all that.

The entire process went pretty well, all things considered. With my stunning good looks and ready wit, I found myself with a brand new partner: Krad Hikari, born on June 11th, Gemini, likes art museums and big guns. When I say big guns, I mean big guns. He _hand-made_ his own special set of guns, and carries the lot in a special case that straps to his back. They're like those Transformers toys; there are special latches fitted onto the weapons so that when put together properly, you get one Big Freaking Gun made up of lots of little guns. He showed me by slotting the lot together and firing off half a dozen rounds, although I admit he came a little close to damaging my trench. Hey, clothes cost money and I only get paid when I'm actually working. That little trip to Osaka cost me at least four days' worth of wages!

Thankfully, we're back home now and settling in quite nicely, even if I do say so myself. All right, so Krad's still trying to get to grips with the fact that he is no longer the best-looking guy around, but we all have to learn that someday right? Plus, I still have to remind him every Sunday evening when we both go over to my parents' for dinner (they invite him every single time, I still have no idea why) that no, graphic descriptions of monster guts and throats getting slashed are _not_ appropriate dinner table topics no matter how accepting of your occupation your family is. Was he brought up in a hunting family where these things were taken as a matter of course or something? You think the man would have picked up a few social skills by now. Still, for better or for worse, Krad and I are partners now, and we'd best start getting to know each other. I'm guessing that he doesn't relish the thought of dying by kappa either.

It's been a few weeks on since the last trip to Osaka, and I'm quite thankful to have another person in the house again, even if he isn't the world's most charming roommate or anything like that. Okay, so he likes to practice his shooting quite a bit. I can handle that, and as long as he doesn't pull a Sherlock-Holmes type thing and try and shoot pretty patterns into the wall, we'll be just fine. It's a Monday morning when we get the call. Well, let me rephrase that. It's 4.27am on a Monday morning when we get the call to haul out. It's some place in Azumano, and even as I scramble to get the details of the address down on paper I'm already wondering why they would send two out-of-town agents into a place that should really by rights have at least one team (of two people) or a cell (of four people) on standby at all times. If one of them has gone off on holiday unannounced, there will be heads rolling. The conversation with Toussaint goes shortly and quickly, what with me being barely able to string two words together to form a sentence and she almost ending her all-nighter shift.

Krad, having modeled his sleeping habits after those of a traumatized cat's, is up and at 'em before I even start thinking about the quickest way to get out of bed. Thankfully, we're both used to the irregular hours and thus keep a travel bag full of equipment and whatnot by the door. It also makes for a great 'survival kit' should the flat one day burn down with us still inside, although of course I'd like to think that will never happen. We get into Krad's Porsche, because he always purses his lips in disgust and pouts like a ten-year-old girl denied a Barbie doll whenever we go in my perfectly decent Toyota.

I am only too happy to let my new partner drive, since it means more sleep for me. Plus, being unconscious is recommended when said partner drives like a Grand Prix participant on speed. We pull into Azumano at about five-fifteen, seeing as it did take us a little while to get dressed and in the car. We make it up to the front of the building, where no one is to be seen in spite of the expensive decor in the lobby. Slinging my duffle over one shoulder and pulling out my gun, I nod at Krad and we slowly enter, boots still making a muffled thump on the ground. When we get to the reception counter, we see a pool of blood and I'm definitely not relishing the police's job of telling his unfortunate family that they're now short one member. A noise from the side catches my ear and I whip around, holding the gun up and ready to shoot. The air feels heavier all of a sudden, and I only have a second's warning before my gun suddenly flies out of my hand and darkness falls.

"Wake up!" A blur of red and light brown swirls into my vision and I blink hazily. "You have to wake up!" The sight slowly swims into focus and I can only stare in shock for a moment. Am I dead?

"You know, you should call God. I'm sure He's missing an angel up there." Oh, hello foot. What are you doing in my mouth? The person above sighs and quickly pulls me up into a sitting position.

"Can you stand?" He asks urgently. I try to push myself off the floor, but end up staggering dangerously and almost fall back down. "Hey, easy there. Come on." The man half-drags me behind the reception counter and I try not to gag at the sight of the poor security guard, still lying there with half his brains splattered over the desk. Some poor lady is going to have to clean that up.

"Krad?" I whisper, unsure of what's going on. My saviour places a finger to his lips and squashes himself up against the desk, clearly listening for something. I take a moment to appreciate exactly how easy on the eyes he is, what with the way he's just arched out over the floor, dark crimson eyes intense beyond belief. Huh. Apparently having my head slammed into a marble floor turns me into a Harlequin novelist. Who'd have thought?

I quickly listen around, wishing fervently that I had my gun on me. Unfortunately, the only weapon I have now is a boot knife; handy, but definitely not much good against anything supernatural. A flash of shadow catches my eye from above and I scramble in next to the other person, who's now frozen up in fear. A civilian, then. I lash out with my knife and only succeed in slicing through the darkness. Two smoky tendrils reach out towards me and I hastily retract my foot, stabbing wildly all the time. I need to restrain this thing, and quickly.

The man next to me gives a cry as he's suddenly dragged forward, the shadow having latched onto him instead of me. I quickly reach up and grope around the desk, hoping to grab a highlighter or something I can work with. My fingers encounter something long and thin, and I hear a faint rattle as I roll it down. Correction fluid. Perfect. Giving it a quick shake and praying that it's not all dried up yet, I hastily squeeze out a banishing sigil on the floor and press my fingers into it. "Bai!"

In a screech and a flash of light, the shadow winks out of existence and its soon-to-be victim flops to the ground, breathing hard. I grab his hand and yank him up. "Come on," I say quickly. "You live here?"

After finding Krad, who'd apparently been hiding behind the door and waiting for a chance to strike (as he calls it), we head up the redheaded man's place. It turns out that his name is Daisuke Niwa, and that he was the one who requested our services. Which explains why he was wandering around at half five in the morning, I suppose. Krad and I immediately get to plastering charms to the door and windows, making sure they're as demon-proofed as it gets. Daisuke watches us with round eyes even as we explain what we're doing and introduce ourselves. Sensitivity seminars always place emphasis on making sure that all parties are fully informed before any serious demon-busting takes place.

Daisuke has a rather unique little problem. Apparently he's being stalked by shadows. Or more precisely, he literally lost his shadow; it separated from him a while back, and of course this drew quite a few stares. However, he's worked out that it's weak to wasabi, of all things (don't ask, I have no idea) and thus stocked up on the stuff, even coating his bathroom door with it. "So you'll help me?" He asks, eyes shining hopefully. Krad grunts and I nod.

"Er…so this problem. Was it urgent?" I ask. I'm trying to figure out how this problem merits a 4.27am call from Headquarters.

Daisuke ducks his head uncomfortable. "Well, my shadow sneaked in," he explains carefully, looking at me from under his eyelashes as though expecting me to burst into laughter at any moment. "And it tried to attack me. I mean," he hastily continues as Krad opens his mouth to say something, "it's only ever really snuck up on me and stayed put. It's never tried to attack me before." He looks sheepish. "I didn't really know who else to call."

Krad huffs behind me, and I know that there's really nothing either of us can say to that. It's not like we can just leave the poor man there to be terrorized by his own shadow until a more decent hour of the morning, but as things stand we'll have to stay around for a little longer. I sigh. Best get started then. "So, how long have you had this…problem?"

It turns out that Daisuke has no idea why his shadow would suddenly turn on him. Ever the erudite one, Krad has dredged up some old manuscript which described a number of circumstances when your shadow would decide to take off. Unfortunately, Daisuke fits none of the criteria described; the look on his face when I ask whether he's ever marinated a hare in mandrake juice under the full moon is only just short of priceless. He's not bought anything that might be cursed, nor has he lost a loved one recently and been unable to cope with the loss. Krad and I examine every little nook and cranny of the flat, but the only conclusion we reach is that the flat is one prime piece of real estate.

Meanwhile, Daisuke is pacing around the house babbling randomly, bits of conversation interspersed with apologies for taking up so much of our time and questions on what we're looking for, or if there's anything else he can do. Finally, he asks the million-dollar question.

"So how did you, um, get into this line of work?"

Now, as clichéd as it may sound, anyone who goes into the business of hunting things that go bump in the dark has a seriously twisted past behind him or her. Demon hunting isn't like BASE jumping or cliff-diving where the reward is that rush of adrenaline at the end. It's damp, miserable nights performing rituals over graves hoping not to get caught, and a lot of running around and cussing as angry demons/spirits make a grab for you. I got into the job by accident, really, but that's a story for another day. It's not one I share with clients or anyone on a regular basis, really, and I'm pretty sure that Krad's got quite a few more skeletons in his closet if the look in his eyes is anything to go by.

"By accident," I cheerily reply as I beam up at Daisuke. "Say, I'm a little thirsty. Is it okay if I get a glass of water?" I straighten up and make a show of stretching, almost curling up in surprise when I feel and see his eyes rake down my body. I know I'm fit; one of the few perks of having a job that requires you to exercise regularly and eat well; and I'm definitely easy on the eyes as well. I let a small smirk play over my lips and meet his eyes squarely. He flushes bright red at having been caught and scuttles out of the room to get that glass of water. Looks like this job will be more interesting than I thought. I turn to Krad and beam. My partner just rolls his eyes and gets down to examining the floor tiles again.

It's now lunchtime, and Krad and I have decided to take a break. Since we'll be needing more clothes and other demon hunting supplies, we decide to head out to the nearest supermarket and stock up for a while. Krad claims he wants to get started on the case report and carelessly tosses the keys at me before settling down with his laptop at the dining room table. I, on the other hand, relish the opportunity to get Daisuke on his own.

We get to the supermarket in no time and I quickly park the car, pretending not to notice Daisuke staring at me like some lovestruck girl. "So, what do you do for a living?" I ask casually as we head inside and share a relieved sigh at the feeling of icy air-conditioning. My client shrugs.

"I'm a graphic designer," he responds softly.

I hum and nod. "Cool. I used to date a graphic designer. Drove me crazy with his attention to detail." I casually let the words drop from my mouth, all the while watching Daisuke out of the corner of my eye and waiting for his reaction. If I read the situation wrong, there's going to be a lot of trouble. After an agonizing fifteen seconds, Daisuke shrugs his surprise off and smiles a little.

"We get that a lot."

I snag a trolley and head towards the produce shelves. "Yeah?"

My client nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, people just immediately assume that we're prissy and uptight, so it's like whatever we do, it's misconstrued. Besides," he looks up at me anxiously, "it's our job to look for flaws. If we can't tell the difference between violet and purple, no one can." He's all cute and excited, eyes sparkling and almost bouncing alongside me as we make our way down the vegetables. I grab a couple of cabbages and Daisuke blinks. "What are you doing?"

I stare at him pointedly. "Getting food," I reply wryly. "Can't eat all of yours."

"What?" He looks indignant, like I've just insulted him personally. "You're on a special diet or something? You're more than welcome to share my stuff, you know. It's not like I'll finish it all by the end of the week."

Well, that's the first time a client's offered to share. Just in case, though, I make another grab for the cabbage. Daisuke glares at me and I drop the vegetables in surprise; the look on his face, whilst making him look like a rather angry kitten, also sends a shock of 'Ooh, _very_ interested' right down my spine. I'm surprised I don't just fall over and start dribbling at his feet in an incoherent mess. A little old lady bumps into me and murmurs an apology before trying to squeeze in between the two of us to get to the vegetables, so I quickly push the trolley away and head off down the aisle. "So what do you have in your fridge then?"

Twenty minutes later, we're walking out of the supermarket with just a small bag of snacks. It turns out that Daisuke's a bit of a health freak and thus stocks up on things like fruit, vegetables and milk. What he doesn't have are gummi bears, chips and chocolate bars. I grab a little of each of these things, knowing my late-night penchant for junk food, and snag a bag of liquorice sticks for Krad as an afterthought. The shocked look Daisuke gives me only serves to make me laugh, and soon he joins in.

The day wears on and slowly, subtly, Daisuke grows on me. When Krad and I finally manage to identify the shadow as a fully autonomous being that has only temporarily 'possessed' Daisuke's shadow (I never fully understood the theory or psychology behind the entire process) and can finally proceed to setting up a potential trap, Daisuke looks so amazed and I just want to pounce on him right then and there. A well-placed kicked from my dear partner banishes these thoughts, however, and I force myself to stop daydreaming lest the charm we're about to perform goes horrifyingly wrong. I knew an agent who once accidentally turned her charm into a love spell and ended up pursued by an insane stalker vampire who bore an uncanny resemblance to that guy from Twilight. Somehow, I don't think Daisuke would enjoy the extra hassle. By now it's late afternoon and Krad is stretched out on the chaise-longue, idly channel-surfing. I, on the other hand, have to escort Daisuke to a nearby hotel to make sure he won't get caught in the crossfire tonight when Krad and I get to capturing the shadow.

I go to check on Daisuke, who's supposed to be packing his overnight bag, and am treated to a rather lovely sight of his upraised behind as he bends over to throw what looks like a sweater into the tiny suitcase. I admire the view for a moment before asking him whether he's okay, and if he'd like me to help. He whips around in surprise and for a second I see a glint of satisfaction in his eyes before the spark disappears and he's just surprised. I shake my head to clear it of fluffy thoughts and hold my hand out to help him up. "Ready to go, then?" He nods and bites his lip, looking up at me trustingly and I swallow before grinning at him. "Let's go then."

Daisuke seems a little more talkative now and starts to ask questions about what sorts of demons and evil spirits I've come up against in my time as a DHA agent. I tell him about the Chinese vampire some idiot coffin-collector shipped over once and how much trouble it caused in the Japanese division. We had to fly in a proper Chinese Taoist exorcist for that one to lead the corpse home, since the family called us three days after the first killing and requested that the body be kept intact. Daisuke laughs and mentions a parallel story that somehow involved a French textiles designer being flown in to create 'a sufficiently realistic texture' on the computer for a new logo. He blushes and trails off when he realizes that the story isn't really as funny as he first thought it was, and I can't help but smile at the sheepish smile he gives me.

Both of us are a little disappointed when we get to the hotel; for one moment I think about latching onto him like a barnacle, but that doesn't strike me as terribly romantic. He stares a little harder at me when we get to his hotel room and I catch a glint of something else pass through his eyes before I lean forward, he presses against me and something snaps. It's like I can't control myself. We tumble into the room in a messy tangle of luggage and limbs and that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

My phone goes off sometime later and I scramble awake, shuffling around the room looking for my pants. Thankfully, they're right next to the bed and I hastily rummage through the pockets just in time to answer. Krad starts yelling at me from the other end and I look around to note that I'm in complete darkness. Crap. It's late, which means that the shadow's probably wandering about now.

"You did it, didn't you?" Krad hollers at me angrily. "I thought Saehara was just joking, but you really do sleep with clients! What on earth is wrong with you?"

I don't bother answering him; instead, I press the lovely little red button and hastily throw on my clothes. I'm supposed to be at the house and haven't placed any protective charms on this place yet. _Sh-t_. I glance around hastily and eventually settle for the cheap hotel pen on the desk. I scribble a quick protective circle in front of the door, reinforcing it with a scrawled spell on yet another small sheet of hotel notepaper and dash out the door, hoping I haven't forgotten anything. Thank goodness my equipment is still in the car.

I get to Daisuke's apartment in ten minutes flat, a new record for me, and slowly make my way to the door with my gun in hand. I try the door; no luck, it's locked. I slowly reach into my pocket with my free hand and produce a hairpin; shooting the lock off would work too, but I don't want to wake the neighbours. They've probably already had a bit of a shock from last night, and will probably be on edge tonight too. I don't want to have to explain to a floor of civilians why I'm toting a gun, thank you very much. The door swings open easily, because big locks don't mean better protection and I slip inside. The living room is silent, which is not a good sign. Krad was yelling at me before, so if he's silent now he's either busy or out of action. Neither is a good thing, just for the record.

The bathroom is suspiciously silent, save for the now-shattered mug and toothbrush lying on the floor. I raise an eyebrow; did the shadow mistake the things for one of us or something? Then a flash of red paint catches my eye and I realize that Krad put a visibility lock on it. There are also red visibility symbols glimmering faintly around the windows, which mean that the shadow cannot hide anymore. I look around quickly for a white outline or something that will identify the shadow, but nothing out of the ordinary strikes me. I slowly back out of the bathroom and head down the corridor.

The first thing I see when I reach the bedroom is Krad, pinned up against the wall with a much larger shadow writhing over him, and it's pretty clear that the whole affair is very much one-sided. At least, I hope so for my sake. I level the gun at the shadow and take a deep breath.

"Why Krad, I had no _idea_ you were so…kinky." My partner's eyes fly open and there's definitely rage in them as he begins to struggle again. I fish around in my pocket for a charm; I know I tucked one in there just before getting into the car the first time round; but my hand doesn't meet anything. I freeze as the shadow slowly turns towards me and two round, red eyes blink at me. In a rush of air it leaps off Krad and moves up the ceiling, and I open fire just as Krad does the same thing.

Krad then gives a shout of triumph as the shadow slithers down and lands on the rug, suddenly frozen still and I realize that there is likely an all=purpose trap drawn underneath there. I hastily raise my gun and fire once more. The bullet flies home and I beam, expecting good and bad to separate out. Nothing happens. My partner stares at me incredulously. I fire again, but still no change. I stare bewildered and slowly a niggling suspicion wanders into my brain. I pull out the empty magazine and examine it, looking for the cross that I know is stamped onto all DHA-issue equipment. Then I remember; my cousin came over last week and we went out to practice on a shooting range. I changed the magazine, because I didn't want to waste my holy bullets (do you have any idea how expensive those things are?) and…oh God. Krad's face shows that he's reached the same conclusion as I have, and the disbelief is evident in his voice. "You _forgot _your silver, blessed bullets?" I open my mouth to explain, but something suddenly glides in through the window and engulfs the shadow in milky fog.

I'm not quite sure what happens next, because I never really got into the whole theoretical side of demon-hunting, but from what I can see the shadow _quivers_, and splits into two. One's got huge, googly eyes that make it look like a Chuzzle (you know, those little fuzzy balls of fluff you're supposed to blow up) and the other is just plain malicious, with beady little red eyes. The fog dissipates and in a shriek the evil twin is gone. All that's left in the room is the wide-eyed, ridiculously cute shadow critter and a shaman.

The shaman sighs and pushes his glasses further up his nose, examining the two of us. He's got blue hair, and I stifle the urge to giggle and ask if the carpet matches the drapes. Krad, on the other hand, is completely smitten. He's got the whole 'lust at first sight' checklist completed; roaming eyes, twitching hands, full-body blush…and I bet if he were to say anything, it'd be lost between his mouth and his brain. "Sorry," the shaman says and Krad practically moans at this point. "One of my experiments went a little…awry. I hope no one was hurt?" His eyes dart over both of us and I grin.

"Not at all," I say smoothly. "We put the civilian up in a hotel. He's probably still sleeping." The shaman stiffens and I realize all too late that there's only really one reason why I'd think he was 'still' sleeping as opposed to just 'sleeping'. Oops. Then those sharp, pretty blue eyes narrow.

"There was a civilian involved?" There's a certain edge to his voice now and chances are the poor man has just remembered that involving civilians in occult rituals and whatnot results in a ban, or a very severe reprimand from the Council of Shamans. My report will confirm the same thing, and he's just told me everything I need to know.

"Well," I say comfortingly, "I'm sure the Council will take into account the fact that no one was seriously harmed or anything." The shaman doesn't seem too convinced, but I'm of the opinion that this particular one is a bit of a dour character, to put it bluntly.

"Can I have your number?" Krad blurts out from beside me and all of us, googly-eyed shadow included, swivel around to stare at him. Even Krad himself seems a little astonished at his sudden awkwardness, but thankfully I've never been one to stand in the way of true lust. Unfortunately, the look on the shaman's face goes from serious to just plain freaked out, and you can't really blame him. I mean, girls throw drinks on guys who do that in bars.

"Krad, honey," I say, "You need to ask the nice man his name first. Then you can get his number." My poor, socially-stunted partner nods and proceeds to ask for the shaman's name.

Meanwhile, the little shadow (which is quite cute, now I think about it), has sidled over to Krad and is carefully latching onto his leg. The shaman sighs and glides over to detach the creature, mumbling what might have been an apology. "It's Satoshi," he finally says. "Satoshi Hiwatari."

Krad sighs dreamily and murmurs 'Satoshi' in a tone of voice that I hope never to hear again. I decide to leave the happy couple to kiss and clean up, and silently proceed towards the doorway.

"Dark." Satoshi's voice is sharp and makes me jump before I remind myself that I am a fully-grown DHA agent and thus should not be scared of someone half my size and likely in notoriously bad shape. "Your client's shadow should have returned. If not, call me." A card materializes in my hand and I briefly glance at it before pressing it into Krad's hand and dashing out of the room. I think this is one of the rare occasions where the aftermath of a case is more bizarre than the actual case itself.

I drive over to the hotel again and run up to Room 136. Just as I'm about to pound on the door again, it swings open to reveal a deliciously disheveled Daisuke. He smiles coyly at me and, well, I was never very good at resisting temptation.

I wake up the next morning and grin at the sight of Daisuke's shadow, back where it belongs and definitely not harbouring any ill intent. Looking down at Daisuke, I can't help but feel a twitch of interest and I can't stop the goofy grin that I know is making its way across my face when I think back to what happened last night. I know I should probably be freaking out considering I just slept with a client and jeopardized the entire job, but quite frankly I can't bring myself to care.

My phone breaks the silence again and I swear, if it's Krad I'm going to shoot him. I've been pretty lucky in the sense that most of my jobs tend to be fairly spaced out, with a day or so in between, but demons and beasties don't exactly take my schedule into consideration when deciding to attack. Either way, I'll likely have to get out of bed. "Dark Mousy speaking," I say down the phone.

It's Krad. "I have a lunch date," he says. I blink at the phone. Did I just step into a chick flick, or did my partner turn into a girl overnight? Mind you, he'd probably make a really pretty one too, seeing as he's already got the striking features and long golden hair down pat. All he needs is the curves and isn't that just a disturbing thought right there?

"Um…"

"With Satoshi." Who? Oh yes. The shaman. Funny; I always thought shamans were off-limits because of their fragile states of mind. It isn't healthy for one person to handle so much summoning power alone, you know. Plus, Satoshi didn't seem all that impressed by Krad last night.

"Right…"

"I don't know what to wear." Alarm bells go off in my head and I roll out of bed, fumbling around for my pants. I'll need to break out the holy water for this one; there is simply noother way on earth that one shaman could have reduced my very trigger-happy, slightly psychotic partner to a teenage girl. This is a bit of a mess.

"Krad, I want you to listen very carefully, and do everything I say," I carefully tell him. He pauses and nods; I can feel the assent even through the phone line. "Repeat after me: In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…" Krad immediately swears down the line, and I'm pretty sure the Lord never intended for that particular word to be used in any prayer. Or in any polite company, in fact. At least there's still some hope.

"I'm not f-cking possessed," growls Krad. "I just don't know what to wear!" I huff and roll my eyes. I am not getting out of bed for this.

"Look it up on Cosmo," I tartly tell him. "I hear they do these amazing colour charts for clothing where they look at decide what colours you should wear in order to better complement your complexion. I'm a Winter through and through. I'm guessing you'll be a Summer or Autumn." I calmly hang up on him, ignoring the litany of curses that could make a sailor blush. I groan and lean back as a pair of hands makes its way up to my shoulders, gently rubbing in circular motions and soothing out the tightness I've been feeling lately.

"Morning," Daisuke purrs into my ear. "Nothing serious?" I shake my head and lean over for a quick kiss, which soon turns into something more. We end up spending the morning…in bed.

Krad and I arrive back at our own apartment at roughly the same time, although I can tell from the bitchface he's pulling at me that he's not at all impressed by my leaving him without a car. He practically drapes himself over the vehicle as soon as I step out, and spends the next fifteen minutes checking the insides to make sure I haven't done anything to it. He pulls himself upright and sniffs at me. "At least you didn't do it in the car," he says haughtily and turns away. I stare at his back, completely flabbergasted at this out-of-the-blue comment. I mean, okay, I've had my fair share of backseat experiences, if you know what I mean, but I'm getting old here. I'm not that flexible anymore, although it is flattering that Krad would think such a thing of me.

"At least I didn't call my partner up to ask him what to wear three days in advance of a date!"

The rest isn't worth describing, but I like to think I handled it like a mature, responsible adult who hunts ghosts and other such things for a living.

It's been a week since Krad met with Satoshi, and he's bringing the shaman home for dinner. He announces this over a dish of stir-fry and some spicy wonton soup, then beams at me with a million-watt smile. It's frightening. I simply nod and start shoveling food into my mouth, hoping to leave the table before my partner turns into a gushing mess about how wonderful Satoshi is yet again.

I, on the other hand, have not brought Daisuke back once. Part of it is because it really is easier for me to just drive over than for him to take the train to my place, but the other part is because I just know Krad will go into overprotective male relative mode just to get back at me for putting Satoshi through the wringer. That shaman deserves it, and then more; he turned my partner from a relatively quiet but lethal machine into a gibbering mess of marshmallow fluff and sparkles. Some days, I feel like I'm living in a girls' slumber party and I'm not talking about that one Schoolgirls Gone Wild video that was all the rage back in high school.

Anyway, back to my little relationship. I'm headed out to Daisuke's the day after, just in time to grill Satoshi appropriately because he always seems to find a way to disappear on me whenever I'm about to break out the big guns. So I'm going to make sure I don't leave his side until 'The Talk' is good and done. Krad is no delicate flower, but all the same I don't need to deal with his heartbreak dampening the mood in the flat anyway.

Seven o'clock rolls around and right on cue, the doorbell rings. Krad beams and runs for the door like some oversized dog with opposable thumbs, unlocking the latch. Satoshi steps in and I see a dark figure move behind. I really hope it's not another hostile shadow. Then it steps into the light and my jaw drops to the floor. It's Daisuke, standing there with a bottle of what looks like Grey Goose in one hand. He moves forward again and wait a minute, did he just-? I shove Krad and Satoshi aside and make a grab for the ugly welcome mat, lifting it up to find that the anti-demon seal on the floor is glowing and there's no way he can possibly make it into the door. "Bai!" I roar and slam my hand to the ground. Daisuke yelps and goes flying, expensive vodka and all. Satoshi and Krad are both shouting something, but I don't really catch what they're saying.

"Stop it!" Krad roars and just as I'm about to go after the demon again, he pins my arms swiftly behind my back. Satoshi's somehow thrown himself in front of Daisuke, who's just standing there with big tears in his eyes and looking like an abandoned puppy.

"He's innocent!" Satoshi shouts. I slowly let my arms go slack, making them think I'm willing to listen to reason. Maybe I am; I'd really like to think that Daisuke is one of those live-and-let-live demons, but they're rare enough these days and it never hurts to err on the side of caution. Still, a shaman is bound by his vows to serve and aid the human race, and if Satoshi's on his side there might be something worth listening to. Krad looks directly at Daisuke.

"You'd best explain," he says before letting me go. Daisuke slowly steps forward, still taking care to avoid all the seals scattered about the floor and he slowly lowers his head. He takes a deep breath as though about to speak, but it's as though the words are stuck in his throat.

"What do you want?" The words tear their way out of my throat and Daisuke swallows again, tears slowly leaking down his face.

"I…I'm not human, okay?" He finally grits out. "I'm an incubus." For someone dropping a bombshell, he's awfully short about it. I wonder if that's what wives do when they inform their husbands that they're leaving and taking the kids. "I'm not evil or anything," he continues, clearly getting into the rhythm of things now. "And I swear I wasn't looking for information. I just really liked you, so I got Satoshi to help me out a bit and I swear I didn't mean for the shadow to get a little out of hand, and…"

I cut him off. "So you were just trying to get my attention?" Daisuke blushes and bites his lip, and demon or no demon, it's still hot to watch.

"Um…yes?" He looks up at me apprehensively, braced for the storm. I think about it, and figure that if he's not doing anyone harm, there's no reason not to continue dating him. Besides, I've grown rather fond of spending time with him and even though our relationship isn't the typical mushy stuff that television shows are so fond of portraying, it's working out just fine so far. And anyone in their right mind would have to be either comatose or dead to be completely immune to Daisuke's…charms.

"You're not killing anyone?" I ask suspiciously. Just in case.

Daisuke looks horrified by the suggestion. "What? No! I'm not an evil incubus." There's definitely a spark of hope in his eyes now and I slowly shrug. It'll take a little getting used to, but if I can get to grips with the irregular lifestyle of a DHA agent, I can definitely handle a relationship with an incubus.

"Okay." Daisuke beams and rushes over, pressing a hard kiss to my lips. Suddenly I feel something pierce my side and I wrench myself backwards, staring in shock at the dagger in my side. I barely manage to identify it as cursed before shock sets in and I stare up into deep crimson eyes, now blank and devoid of all feeling. "Wha…?" Darkness rushes over me and the last thing I hear is Krad screaming again.

* * *

Oops. This was supposed to be lighthearted and a quick AU romp, but it got twisted in the making. For anyone interested, I am thinking about an alternative ending but haven't worked out the details just yet, so let me know if you're interested! Reviews are much appreciated, and thank you for reading!


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